I spent part of this week in London looking at the interaction between diplomacy and faith. In particular, I attended one of the Foreign Office’s flagship series of debates, ‘The Jubilee Dialogues’, which bring together leading thinkers to discuss some of the major drivers behind transformation in societies across the world.
The subject of the debate I attended was: “How will religion shape foreign policy in the next ten years?”, organised by Wilton Park.
As one would expect from a cast list that included an FCO Minister, an Anglican Bishop, journalists, a Catholic priest, representatives of the Hindu, Muslim and Jewish faiths, a leading figure from the British Humanist Association, ambassadors and senior FCO officials, discussion was open and lively.
Though formal conclusions were not drawn, I was struck by some very clear points of consensus. One was that, while we should not see religion lurking behind every international issue, the range of foreign policy questions that do have a religious dimension is extremely broad.
As foreign affairs practitioners, we need to mainstream religion across our thinking and training rather than pigeon-hole it in a confined space for experts only. And as propagators of values, we need to recognise that Freedom of Religion or Belief (including the freedom to be non-religious, to change religion, and not to believe) is a fundamental right that needs greater attention internationally.
The Jubilee Dialogue linked into another reason for my being in London; to speak at a Foreign Office course for diplomats, run by the Woolf Institute, on religion and foreign policy. I addressed young diplomats posted to places like Jerusalem, the Holy See and Burma, working on issues including security and co-operation in Europe, women’s rights and disarmament.
It was a lively group, keen to understand more about a world in which they have to operate that is, in Peter Berger’s words (Foreign Affairs, 2008) “as furiously religious as it ever was, and in some places more so than ever”.
For diplomats to interact with the world today, they need to have the tools of the trade. These will include a working knowledge of international law, economics, languages, and a deep historical and cultural understanding of the countries where they are posted.
A crucial part of that is religious literacy. A basic understanding about faith is not discretionary for a 21st century diplomat, whether he or she is religious or not, but a legitimate, indeed essential element of the knowledge base.
It is positive that this is increasingly recognised at the Foreign Office.