Berkley Center

Corrupt practices of many kinds undermine efforts to advance on virtually any front, including fighting poverty, assuring security, addressing climate change, and supporting vulnerable people and communities. Fighting corruption thus belongs at the center of global policy agendas, as a moral imperative and a prerequisite for practical results. Religious actors and faith-inspired organizations can be powerful allies in the effort but are insufficiently involved. To move forward, religious actors must address corrupt practices within their own communities; without such efforts they are crippled in contributing effectively and with trust to broader community, national, and global agendas. The G20 Interfaith Forum in September 2018 urged G20 leaders to heed the insights of religious communities and commit to continuing engagement with broad civil society and private networks that include religious actors, as they act decisively to rebuild trust and integrity in governance and public services. This G20 Interfaith Forum Policy Paper was authored by Katherine Marshall with Elias Szczytnicki, Fr. Seamus Finn, Amb. Alvaro Albacete, Ulrich Nitschke, Christoph Stuckelberger, and Peter Eigen.