Rethinking the Role of Religion in Changing Public Spheres: Some Comparative Perspectives

We must never become a nation that propounds an official religion or suggests that some religions are more American than others. At the same time, one of the official religions we must never propound is the religion of secularism, the suggestion that there is something un-American about trying to live life in a way that puts God first. Quite the contrary: Preserving the ability of the faithful to put God first is precisely the purpose for which freedom of religion must exist.32

Carter worries about religious voices losing their prophetic edge by being co-opted by political forces and about the antireligious politics of the political elite. He suggests that without an independent religious conscience there might never have been an abolitionist movement, a movement for the rights of industrial workers, or the civil rights movement.33 In the book, he lays out what he considers to be the basis of "principled and prophetic religious activism."34 Incidentally, Carter has been criticized for propagating a version of religion which is "self-evidently personalistic, moralistic, and experiential, and most definitely of the monotheistic variety;" which sustains the misleading dichotomy of "church-state;" and which prevents people from seeing how values may be cultivated in the "secular" realm.35 Another critic describes Carter's book as "a product of the very culture it purports to criticize," saying that it advances a view of religion as legitimate only when in service of democracy.36 Even this criticism indicates the stakes of the debate about religion's role in the public sphere.

C. Diplomatic Recognition of Religion in the Public Sphere

As an extension of the greater recognition of the role of religion on the international stage, a number of new initiatives to extend the scope of faith-based organizations to the diplomatic realm are notable. A number of recently published works realistically address the religious dimension of specific diplomatic efforts such as conflict transformation and peacebuilding.37 A new book, Faith-Based Diplomacy: Trumping Realpolitik,38 gives shape to this emerging field. The editor, Douglas Johnston, calls for religious imperatives to be "incorporated as a major consideration in U.S. foreign policy,"39 and for greater consideration to be given to the peace-building capacity of religion at the diplomatic level.40 Additionally, a new journal, Faith and International Affairs, encourages interfaith dialogue, provides resources for those wanting "to build bridges of understanding within faith and international affairs," and a forum for analysis and opinion that "sharpens both spiritual and political discernment."41 In a recent article in this journal, for example, one can read about the rituals of prayer and fasting that led to a breakthrough in difficult peace negotiations in the Kashmir region.42

Along with practical analysis in journals and books, new organizations are sprouting up to encourage a place for religion in diplomacy. For instance, the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy in Washington, D.C., works "[t]o address identity-based conflicts that exceed the reach of traditional diplomacy by incorporating religion as part of the solution."43