Webinar on Religion and Diplomacy

End of February the Swedish Dialogue Institute for the Middle East and North Africa hosted a webinar on religion and diplomacy. Four prominent panellists, Prof. Azza Karam (Secretary General of Religions for Peace), Ambassador Ulrika Sundberg (Sweden’s Special Envoy for interreligious and intercultural dialogue), County Governor Georg Andrén and Mrs. Merete Bilde (EEAS) reflected on why “religious literacy” is important for diplomacy/diplomats, on what roles faith based organisations are playing for peace and security, socio-economic development, etc. and on how diplomats can become better dialogue partners to faith based organisations. Colleagues from Swedish missions in the EuroMed/MENA region also shared some reflections. The discussion was moderated by ambassador Charlotta Sparre, director of the Swedish Dialogue Institute for the Middle East and North Africa.

The intersection of religion and diplomacy is an important entry point for understanding and engaging with actors in the MENA region. Raising awareness about the role of religion in society and politics is an essential element for diplomats in understanding the region, faith-based actors and to engage in dialogue with different actors, not least for Swedes who according to the World value survey, are among the most secular people in the world.

Prof Karam emphasized to the importance of understanding religion as a cultural, social and financial force. Religion is a realm of forces intersecting. Religion plays a vital role as it impacts what people think and believe. Without understanding what people think or what makes them tick makes it difficult to understand the MENA region – and most other parts of the world. Ambassador Sundberg, agreed with Prof Karam’s analysis and stressed that understanding religion is needed to make accurate political analysis and that building understanding between religions and cultures is a question of becoming an effective diplomat.

The importance of awareness about biases and blind spots was raised by all speakers. Bilde stressed that as diplomats we need to look at the influence religion has, not just as religious leaders and faith-based organisation, but as drivers of identity markers and world views. She added that the EU has both a secular and Christian blind spot. It was important not to put religion on a pedestal, but to look at it within a context. As a diplomat it was important to recognize one’s own blind spots and biases. At the same time, it was important to remember that diplomats have policy objectives.

Prof Karam highlighted two distinct biases. One that sees that religion should have no place with public space, with secularity often translating to having religion in a private space. The other bias was in direct opposition claiming that religion is the best place and the best solution in public spaces. These two biases work as reactions and counter-reactions to each other. Prof Karam reminded that most social services and development assistance, were originally delivered by religious institutions. Many of the first responders globally are religious, with four of the biggest development organisations being religious. It’s therefore not only about understanding the religion, but understanding the cultural, religious, and political reach of these religions. Religions for Peace, led by Professor Karam, was established 50 years ago in response to the fear that political institutions were unable to stop increased nuclearization. Religious leaders came together to help political institutions stop a looming nuclear war. With their constituencies, they could give a moral voice and authority. For Religions for peace, fundamentalism has always been ruled out, with multi-religious collaboration as the antidote. The work is anchored in the universal declaration of human rights, which Prof Karam noted, was inspired by religion. In 2020 the organisation focused on how faith inspired men and women, and the role of women across the globe.

Ambassador Ulrika Sundberg, who serves as Sweden’s Special Envoy for interreligious and intercultural dialogue, as part of the national plan against racism, said that Sweden woke up quite late to the understanding of how religions influence diplomatic work and that religion is an important factor in political analysis. In her role she also works for improving freedom of religion and beliefs and strengthening the role of religious minorities. For freedom of religion to be realized, freedom of association and freedom of expression is needed. Sundberg stressed that religion is a fluid system of variables that can be both positive and negative. In many instances, the first responders are religious actors or actors affiliated with religious actors. Interreligious dialogue can therefore be an instrument to increase tolerance when you need to solve a particular issue, lift tensions, and prevent violence. It is therefore important to work on religion in conflicts as an underlying factor.

County governor Andrén, who previously have served as Sweden’s ambassador in Latin America, shared experiences of working with faith-based organisations in Guatemala, a country that had been struck by a long and deep-rooted racial and multifaceted unresolved conflict. He underlined the importance of being respectful about what makes up the society and the central role that faith-based organisations could play both for development and in peacebuilding. He stressed that if we are serious about peacebuilding, we need to start with ourselves and aim to understand the culture and fabric of society.

Bilde, who for more than a decade has worked on building up EU competence on religion pointed to the need to integrate religious and cultural understanding in EU’s diplomatic and development work. She mentioned a growing awareness of the need of integrating religious analysis and said that religion and culture now were topics regularly discussed at annual ambassadors’ conferences.

After the panel discussion colleagues from Swedish missions in the EuroMed/MENA region, Erik Salmgren von Schantz (Saudi Arabia), Agnes Julin (Jerusalem) and Salpy Weiderud (Cyprus peace track at the Swedish Embassy to Cyprus) shared some reflections. Among other things they stressed that Swedes need better training on “religious literacy” and on how and why to speak to religious representatives or faith-based organisations, as potentially important bridge builders. Understanding cultural and religious contexts can be an important tool for realizing our own priorities, especially humanitarian and development aims. An interesting example was given by Salpy Weiderud, who works on the Cyprus peace track at the Swedish Embassy to Cyprus. She shared experiences of trust building through interreligious peace dialogue, where Sweden has helped creating a space for dialogue, opening for changing narratives and increasing mutual understanding.

Among other issues that came up during the webinar was that Sweden could play even more prominent roles in dialogue facilitation, negotiations, and peacebuilding by further engaging in inclusive dialogues, if we make sure to also take faith-based organisations into account. There was also a call for a transformed language in normative dialogues.

In summing up the conversation the speakers were asked to make recommendations. Among other things they highlighted the value of a respectfully curious approach and said that unless we are respectful to people and their religious beliefs, we will neither be welcomed or effective. Doing no harm needs to be a basic principle. Key words mentioned were accountability, commitment, solidarity, courage, and justice. Other recommendations included understanding to which extent and how religion matters, who the stakeholders are, and to build on the massive existing knowledge and experience, by organisations working with multi-faith spaces already convening religious actors and institutions, drawing on their experience in convening many religions together, over difficult issues (including conflict), over many years of trial and error. Final recommendations were, be humble and conscious about your own biases; ensure space for all religions in dialogues and mappings; and to understand a society, you must understand the relationship between religion and politics. These should not be looked at in silos.