Welcoming the Other Through Human Development that Respects the Earth
November 21, 2013
Human development, our challenge for this panel, is a term that is used in many ways. But human development is, more than anything else, about faith in human potential and respect for human dignity. It is about hope for progress, about education, decent work, and health care. It is about equal rights and an equal chance for all, all boys and girls, women and men. These hopes are well justified, resting on sound foundations, because, for the first time in human history, we know what we can achieve. Grinding poverty can be brought to an end, education and health for all are possible, and every human being can have a real chance to develop their gifts, chose their life direction, and be part of a greater whole.
This is a remarkable gift and a weighty responsibility. It is one we must never forget. We cannot allow anyone to force a choice between fulfilling this promise and protecting the earth. Both are equally vital and we must make sure that both are possible.
I began my work in the development world, but for the past 14 years have focused on building bridges between that world and the rich and complex world of religious ideas, actors, and institutions. From the start, Religions for Peace has been associated with the effort. Through that time my conviction has grown ever stronger that the discontents and disconnects that often divide these worlds matter. They matter above all because together we can achieve far more. They matter because working at cross purposes wastes time and energy and detracts from what we can achieve. To my mind bridging the divides between religious and secular is as important and at least as demanding as interreligious dialogue and common action.
The global struggle against HIV and AIDS illustrates vividly what can be achieved together. Dialogue and even tensions sharpen understandings and make for better solutions, while unresolved disputes detract from progress against this global threat. We can take inspiration from the way religious communities on the front lines acted with compassion and courage, learning and changing as the contours of the pandemic changed. The complex collaboration that we see today, patchy and partial as it is, gives reason to hope for bigger and better action in the future.
I would like to highlight five action suggestions, hoping that this may help to address a nagging worry that we hear often here: how can we translate the inspiration and spirit so evident here into reality.
We need much better knowledge about what is being done, separately and together. Many development organizations have distorted images of the worlds of religion. Likewise the worlds of development are often seen through a contorted lens. How can we work together, welcome the other, if we do not have better knowledge. We need better faith literacy, better development literacy, and better information about what is happening and its real impact.
An example of where better communication can help is the fight against corruption. Corruption is both a moral and a practical issue: public responsibility to serve citizens honestly is an ethical challenge, but systems that facilitate corruption need to be changed in practical ways. Religious leaders talk movingly about corruption but in most places are too little involved in anti-corruption programs. We can and should change that, starting with better knowledge and communication.
Equality between men and women is a central goal for human development. Indeed we can be confident that societies where women are not educated and have equal opportunities cannot progress. The stained glass ceilings within many religious traditions and reticence about engaging women as equal partners are widely remarked: it is the reason I most often hear why religious actors are not seen as sincere partners in human development. It is time to address the doubts, starting from understandings of how equality works within a family.
An example? There are many but let me focus on violence against women. Religious voices about domestic violence and about the targeted and systemic phenomenon of rape especially in conflict are seen often as rather tepid, tempered and qualified. Surely that can change. We need more outrage and more commitment to action and change. Likewise the health perils and violations of rights to free will involved in early marriage are well known. Religious leaders are directly involved most of the time and could unite to bring this practice to an end.
Partnership is a fundamental part of the welcome that this Assembly advocates. It is a contemporary truism that many new forms of partnership are needed to draw on the different strengths of various actors, and that includes prominently religious parties. Religious actors need to be central partners in each and every one of the Millennium Development Goals, from ending hunger to educating every child and ensuring toilets for all. Yet there are many doubts about what kinds of partnerships work well and about foibles and pathologies that make them unequal and imperfect. We know that good partnerships need conscious construction and constant nurture.
The challenge put to the Assembly to devote our full will, energy, commitment, and consistent priority to making the “ten promises to our children” a centerpiece for transformation is an excellent example of a partnership challenge. The challenge starts at the global level and goes all the way to each family. The framework and promises will be empty if we do not take each promise and translate it into concrete collaboration and partnership.
There is a sharpened focus in the world of development institutions on the most challenged states, sometimes called fragile, conflict, or even failed. There is much soul searching about how to do better, what is missing in current strategies. Yet the vital role of religious actors is rarely seen as an important path to solutions in development strategies and partnerships. That should change.
We know all too well that if you are not at the table you tend to end up on the menu. The discussions and dialogue about challenged states is an example of where seats at the strategy tables should be sought, demanded, and filled, with wisdom and creativity.
Results and accountability are part of democracy. They are also central to the global ethic that emerges from many if not all religious teachings. We are seeing revolutions in what these terms mean as citizens can participate far more directly and actively through the wonders of technology. The mysteries of national budgets and strategies can be deciphered and translated into something as practical as how many textbooks should arrive at a school and whether teachers are present and teaching as they are obligated. There are exciting examples of religious communities playing a part but the surface has barely been scratched.
One example of what is possible is a creative Cambodian program linked to the important climate change REDD program (avoided deforestation, or Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation). There Buddhist monks with GPS devices are helping to ground truth satellite imagery about the status of forests. The benefits are preservation of forests for future generations, and direct support for the immediate financial engagement that is part of the program.
My suggested five priorities and challenges are thus: (a) to work together to build the knowledge and literacy that we need for true common action for just and sustainable human development; (b) to remove the veils from doubts about what achieving full gender equality means and engaging religious voices more directly in the effort; (c) to work harder to build creative and respectful partnerships that mobilize diverse efforts; (d) to ensure that religious actors are more fully engaged in global efforts to meet the challenges of the weakest states; and (e) to embrace the modern calls for results and accountability, with moral leadership that also draws on the powers of technology and social media.
Action on each of these challenges is demanding but possible. It calls for creativity and discipline. But this is a path towards the promise this Assembly and Religions for Peace represent: that a far better world is possible and within our grasp.
This speech was delivered at the Religions for Peace Ninth World Assembly, Vienna Plenary Panel, November 21, 2013.
I began my work in the development world, but for the past 14 years have focused on building bridges between that world and the rich and complex world of religious ideas, actors, and institutions. From the start, Religions for Peace has been associated with the effort. Through that time my conviction has grown ever stronger that the discontents and disconnects that often divide these worlds matter. They matter above all because together we can achieve far more. They matter because working at cross purposes wastes time and energy and detracts from what we can achieve. To my mind bridging the divides between religious and secular is as important and at least as demanding as interreligious dialogue and common action.
The global struggle against HIV and AIDS illustrates vividly what can be achieved together. Dialogue and even tensions sharpen understandings and make for better solutions, while unresolved disputes detract from progress against this global threat. We can take inspiration from the way religious communities on the front lines acted with compassion and courage, learning and changing as the contours of the pandemic changed. The complex collaboration that we see today, patchy and partial as it is, gives reason to hope for bigger and better action in the future.
I would like to highlight five action suggestions, hoping that this may help to address a nagging worry that we hear often here: how can we translate the inspiration and spirit so evident here into reality.
We need much better knowledge about what is being done, separately and together. Many development organizations have distorted images of the worlds of religion. Likewise the worlds of development are often seen through a contorted lens. How can we work together, welcome the other, if we do not have better knowledge. We need better faith literacy, better development literacy, and better information about what is happening and its real impact.
An example of where better communication can help is the fight against corruption. Corruption is both a moral and a practical issue: public responsibility to serve citizens honestly is an ethical challenge, but systems that facilitate corruption need to be changed in practical ways. Religious leaders talk movingly about corruption but in most places are too little involved in anti-corruption programs. We can and should change that, starting with better knowledge and communication.
Equality between men and women is a central goal for human development. Indeed we can be confident that societies where women are not educated and have equal opportunities cannot progress. The stained glass ceilings within many religious traditions and reticence about engaging women as equal partners are widely remarked: it is the reason I most often hear why religious actors are not seen as sincere partners in human development. It is time to address the doubts, starting from understandings of how equality works within a family.
An example? There are many but let me focus on violence against women. Religious voices about domestic violence and about the targeted and systemic phenomenon of rape especially in conflict are seen often as rather tepid, tempered and qualified. Surely that can change. We need more outrage and more commitment to action and change. Likewise the health perils and violations of rights to free will involved in early marriage are well known. Religious leaders are directly involved most of the time and could unite to bring this practice to an end.
Partnership is a fundamental part of the welcome that this Assembly advocates. It is a contemporary truism that many new forms of partnership are needed to draw on the different strengths of various actors, and that includes prominently religious parties. Religious actors need to be central partners in each and every one of the Millennium Development Goals, from ending hunger to educating every child and ensuring toilets for all. Yet there are many doubts about what kinds of partnerships work well and about foibles and pathologies that make them unequal and imperfect. We know that good partnerships need conscious construction and constant nurture.
The challenge put to the Assembly to devote our full will, energy, commitment, and consistent priority to making the “ten promises to our children” a centerpiece for transformation is an excellent example of a partnership challenge. The challenge starts at the global level and goes all the way to each family. The framework and promises will be empty if we do not take each promise and translate it into concrete collaboration and partnership.
There is a sharpened focus in the world of development institutions on the most challenged states, sometimes called fragile, conflict, or even failed. There is much soul searching about how to do better, what is missing in current strategies. Yet the vital role of religious actors is rarely seen as an important path to solutions in development strategies and partnerships. That should change.
We know all too well that if you are not at the table you tend to end up on the menu. The discussions and dialogue about challenged states is an example of where seats at the strategy tables should be sought, demanded, and filled, with wisdom and creativity.
Results and accountability are part of democracy. They are also central to the global ethic that emerges from many if not all religious teachings. We are seeing revolutions in what these terms mean as citizens can participate far more directly and actively through the wonders of technology. The mysteries of national budgets and strategies can be deciphered and translated into something as practical as how many textbooks should arrive at a school and whether teachers are present and teaching as they are obligated. There are exciting examples of religious communities playing a part but the surface has barely been scratched.
One example of what is possible is a creative Cambodian program linked to the important climate change REDD program (avoided deforestation, or Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation). There Buddhist monks with GPS devices are helping to ground truth satellite imagery about the status of forests. The benefits are preservation of forests for future generations, and direct support for the immediate financial engagement that is part of the program.
My suggested five priorities and challenges are thus: (a) to work together to build the knowledge and literacy that we need for true common action for just and sustainable human development; (b) to remove the veils from doubts about what achieving full gender equality means and engaging religious voices more directly in the effort; (c) to work harder to build creative and respectful partnerships that mobilize diverse efforts; (d) to ensure that religious actors are more fully engaged in global efforts to meet the challenges of the weakest states; and (e) to embrace the modern calls for results and accountability, with moral leadership that also draws on the powers of technology and social media.
Action on each of these challenges is demanding but possible. It calls for creativity and discipline. But this is a path towards the promise this Assembly and Religions for Peace represent: that a far better world is possible and within our grasp.
This speech was delivered at the Religions for Peace Ninth World Assembly, Vienna Plenary Panel, November 21, 2013.
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