Research On Religion » Boko Haram

Religious Liberty and Violent Religious Extremism

tonygill — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 09:00:32 +0000

Can religious liberty serve as an antidote to religious violence extremism? This was the question posed to a panel of four scholars at a symposium sponsored by the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkeley Center for Religion, Peace, & World Affairs (Georgetown University). Thomas Farr, the current director of the Religious Freedom Institute, moderates a lively discussion that includes Daniel Philpott (Notre Dame), William Inboden (UT-Austin), Allen Hertzke (Oklahoma), and Sahar Aziz (Texas A&M). The discussion ranges widely with a focus on human rights, the Arab Spring, the Muslim Brotherhood and the possibility of democratic governance. Prof. Dan Philpott begins the conversation by noting an empirical pattern between the lack of religious liberty and violent extremism that has arisen amongst Islamic nations in recent decades, but cautions individuals against thinking this relationship is related to Islam per se. Instead, he places an emphasis on the lack of freedom and democratic governance. Prof. Inboden then turns the discussion to the issue of radicalization and terrorism, pointing out that the U.S. has not yet developed an effective policy of counter-radicalization. Thomas Farr then turns to Dr. Hertzke who argues there is a strong empirical linkage between religious repression and violence. Prof. Sahar Aziz then joins in to clarify some of the dimensions of what “terrorism” means and asserts that religious freedom is actually connected to a wide range of other freedoms. The discussion takes off from there and includes a number of interesting theoretical and empirical observations. An audience question & answer period follows the interchange of scholars. Recorded: November 15, 2016.

Torrey Olsen on Faith-Based Humanitarianism and World Vision

tonygill — Sun, 05 Oct 2014 08:01:40 +0000

Being a humanitarian aid worker can be a dangerous job. Torrey Olsen, Director of Christian Witness at World Vision, knows this well from his own experience. With over 15 years experience in West Africa, Mr. Olsen has endured malaria, being shot at, and being abducted at gunpoint and left to walk home in the Sahara Desert. He reviews these experiences and what the role of religiously-based humanitarian aid organizations play in the world with a specific focus on World Vision.

Our conversation begins with a discussion of World Vision, a Christian-based humanitarian relief organization with 45,000-50,000, several hundred thousand volunteers, and an annual budget of roughly $2 billion. Torrey reviews the history of this entity, its general mission, and discusses a number of different projects that they have engaged in over the years. He notes that while a faith-based organization rooted in Christianity, it is not a proselytizing ministry and has signed on to the Red Cross Code of Conduct. Moreover, while employing nearly every stripe of Christian, World Vision operates ecumenically both hiring members of other faith traditions (e.g., Muslims, Hindus) and reaching out to these different confessions as a way to build communities and solve social problems at the grassroots level. Mr. Olsen provides details of a recent project they are undertaking designed to bring Christian pastors and Islamic clerics together to disseminate information about the Ebola epidemic that is affecting western Africa. He also covers a number of other humanitarian projects and along the way Tony learns what Plumpy’Nuts are.

Our discussion of World Vision also includes some reflections on how there has been a massive sea change in the world of humanitarian aid efforts. Compared to the not so distant past, secular non-government organizations, governments, and local communities are embracing the efforts of faith-based organizations to help solve various socio-economic problems. While there is much talk about “new social movements,” these “old social movements” (i.e., religious congregations) are ready-made for rapid collective action and have very useful information about local conditions and how aid efforts can be managed in that context. Moreover, these religious groups also happen to be highly trusted among local populations, which facilitates efforts to bring both short-term and long-term assistance to communities in need. We also discuss the general strategy of World Vision, which includes “rapid response teams” to drop in emergency supplies and long-term development projects such as encouraging local gardening as a means of battling malnutrition. Torrey lays out his job with the organization, noting three specific tasks that he is responsible for: 1) training and supporting staff; 2) mobilizing pre-existing churches and faith-based organizations; and 3) supporting child sponsorship programs. (Mr. Olsen and his wife have “walked the walk” by adopting a child and guiding him through a successful college and professional career.)

We then turn to Torrey’s personal history, and what a story it is! We learn that although being raised as a pastor’s son, Torrey had his “prodigal period” only to return to his faith with a strong interest in economic development. His first experience in the field involved be caught in the middle of a civil war in Chad and hiding under a bed while hundreds of villagers were killed around him, and then escaping to an French airplane. This wasn’t the only harrowing experience he has had, as later in his aid career he was abducted at gunpoint. He describes his thoughts and emotions during this very tense time, a fascinating look into how difficult it can be working in some of the world’s “hot spots.” Nonetheless, he also recounts the numerous success stories he has been part of, including a project that had citizens growing their own food in small gardens in West Africa and an ecumenical effort between Muslims and Christians to help educate people about AIDS. Torrey also mentions the role a movie — “The Imam and the Pastor” — played in alleviating conflict in local regions of Ghana that had the effect of local residents resisting an affront by Boko Haram. He describes the most rewarding aspects of development work as being long-term projects that flourish and being able to let local individuals, using their own knowledge of their conditions, make choices that best suit their environment.

We finish the interview with his response to critiques that organizations such as World Vision are engaging in cultural imperialism or “ricebowl Christianity.” He notes the acceptance that his efforts have among local populations he has worked with and wishes that more media attention would be paid to the good works that people are doing rather than the conflict. The podcast ends on an upbeat and optimistic note about the future direction of the world and the role that religious individuals play in it. Recorded: October 3, 2014.

David Smith on Religion, International Relations, and Foreign Policy

tonygill — Sun, 25 May 2014 08:00:51 +0000

Does religion affect the way nations interact with one another? Does it affect foreign policy? And if so, why have scholars of international relations ignored the role of religion until recently? David Smith, a lecturer at the University of Sydney in the Department of Government and International Relations and a researcher in the United States Studies Program, provides us with an overview of how religion has played, and possibly still plays, a role in international relations and foreign policy.

We start out with an overview of the field of international relations (IR), a sub-discipline in political science (and one that stretches across other academic fields), and why scholars working in that area have, until recently, ignored religion. David takes us back to 1648 and the Peace of Westphalia to explain this general academic oversight. It is argue that since Western Europe essentially took the “religious question” off the table in the real of interstate conflict and diplomacy following the Thirty Year’s War, it was never considered to be a point of interest to scholars studying IR. Add to this the general tendency to favor materialist and realpolitik explanations in studying nation-states, and religion never seemed to be something interesting to study.

Things begin to change in the IR field with the 1979 Iranian Revolution. We note that although the Peace of Westphalia may have conditioned thinking about the role of religion (and ideas more generally) in diplomacy, the rest of the world really wasn’t party to this worldview. The general pattern of thinking in U.S. foreign policy prior to 1979 was that Islam would always be an ally to America in the battle against communism, thus the popular revolt that swept Islamists to power in Iran caught policymakers by surprise. Prof. Smith notes that the Iranian revolution has had the effect in the US State Department of creating a concern over popular uprisings with religious overtones. He illustrates this with the recent US reaction to the Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt.

After acknowledging that religious ideas, movements, and organizations need to be taken seriously by IR scholars and diplomats, we then discuss how religion might play a role in international affairs. This is where we pick up the work of Stephen Rock, Eric Patterson, and Andrew Preston, which was the focus of David’s recent review article in The Australian Journal of Political Science. Our first possible method whereby religion impacts diplomacy relates to lobbying. Groups like the American-Israeli Political Action Committee or the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops often try to influence American foreign policy, but David explains how these groups are largely ineffective. We then look at how public opinion, typically expressed institutionally by voting patterns, may influence diplomatic leaders. Again, the relative impact of religious beliefs and preferences get filtered out from the diplomatic corps, although there are times when Congress can use religious issues to press for certain foreign policies.

The third possible mode religion may influence international relations is via the personal beliefs of leaders and diplomats. David, though, notes that there is not much evidence between a president’s religious beliefs and the general patterns of foreign policy. Richard Nixon (Quaker) and Jimmy Carter (evangelical) are used as example of how leaders are constrained in their ability to affect foreign policy. The final pathway relates the general ideological (theological) milieu of the United States and how it acts as “background radiation” on the thinking of political leaders. Examples of this include John Winthrop’s “city on a hill” concept, Jeffersonian isolationism, Wilson’s liberal internationalism, and Reagan’s aggressive nationalism. We discuss the empirical difficulty of explaining how these three different ideas are influenced by America’s religious ideas.

David provides a number of examples of how religion has played a real role in conditioning US diplomacy. We discuss the issue of human rights and Jewish dissidents in the Soviet Union, the creation of the International Religious Freedom Act, Boko Haram, and finish up with how U.S. evangelicals approach climate policy, both domestically and abroad. David also reflects upon the role that religion plays in the diplomatic relations of other countries, most notably Europe and Australia. Recorded: May 8, 2014.