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"Religion And Development At The Crossroads: Convergence Or Divergence?"
A Study
Guide on the
Bahá'í
International Community's
statement
to the World Summit on
Sustainable Development
(August
2002)
The below questions and main points were developed by some 50 participants in a workshop in December, 2002, at the Baha'i Conference on Social and Economic Development for the Americas, in Orlando, FL, USA. Though they do not address the document comprehensively, perhaps they can serve as an introduction to study of the BIC statement to the WSSD.
Each
of five breakout groups
were asked to study a specific section of the statement (including
related
footnotes), to devise some questions answered by that section of the
text,
and to list the main points of that section. The groups then reported
their
findings which were recorded by Gail Lash and have been edited by Peter
Adriance (padriance@usbnc.org
Section I - Opening Paragraphs:
Questions:
1. Over the course
of the 20th century,
what has been the trend with ethnic, racial, and national prejudices?
a. Over the course of the
20th century,
ethnic, racial and national prejudices have increasingly given way to
the
recognition that humankind is a single family and the earth its common
homeland.
2. Despite
its significant achievements,
what has the UN yet to grasp fully?
a. Despite [its] significant
achievements,
the United Nations has yet to grasp fully both the constructive role
that
religion can play in creating a peaceful and prosperous global order,
and
the destructive impact that religious fanaticism can have on the
stability
and progress of the world.
3. In the
development realm, how has
the UN, for the most part, viewed religious communities?
a. In the development
realm... the United
Nations has, for the most part, viewed religious communities merely as
channels for the delivery of goods and services, and as mechanisms to
carry
out development policies and programs.
Main Points:
- In response to the growing
recognition
of the oneness of humanity, the UN has worked tirelessly to bring about
a world where all peoples and nations can live together in peace and
harmony.
- Despite many achievements,
the UN has
not yet fully grasped the positive role that religion can play, nor the
destructive role of religious fanaticism, in bringing about a peaceful
and prosperous global society.
Section II -- Religion as the Basis of Civilization and Progress:
Questions:
1. What cannot be
accomplished in a
spiritual vacuum?
a. It is becoming
increasingly clear that
passage to the culminating stage in the millennia long process of the
organization
of the planet as one home for the entire human family cannot be
accomplished
in a spiritual vacuum.
2. How do
the Bahá'í writings
describe religion?
a. Religion, the
Bahá'í
Scriptures aver, "is the source of illumination, the cause of
development
and the animating impulse of all human advancement" and "has been the
basis
of all civilization and progress in the history of mankind."
3. What
does religion represent for
the majority of the world's people; and what kind of power does it have?
a. It is the source of
meaning and hope
for the vast majority of the planet's inhabitants, and it has a
limitless
power to inspire sacrifice, change and long-term commitment in its
followers.
4. What
will be impossible so long as
religious animosities are allowed to destabilize the world?
a. So long as religious
animosities are
allowed to destabilize the world, it will be impossible to foster a
global
pattern of sustainable development.
Main Points:
- The organization of the
planet as "one
home for the entire human family" cannot be accomplished in a spiritual
vacuum.
- A peaceful and prosperous
global society
cannot be established and sustained without directly and substantively
involving the world's religions in its design and support.
- The effects of religious
strife hinder
the advancement of a global pattern of sustainable development.
Section III -- Religion and the United Nations: Working Together for Peace and Justice
Questions:
1. Why has the UN
been hesitant to
invite religion into its negotiations?
a. Given the record of
religious fanaticism,
it is understandable that the UN has been hesitant to invite religion
into
its negotiations.
2. What
will be required for the UN
to tap into the power and vision of religion?
a. To do so will require
accepting religion
not merely as a vehicle for the delivery and execution of development
initiatives,
but as an active partner in the conceptualization, design,
implementation
and evaluation of global policies and programs.
3. How
swiftly can the acceptance of
religion as a partner within the UN be expected?
a. It should not be imagined
that the
acceptance of religion as a partner within the United Nations will be
anything
but gradual or that religious hostilities will be eliminated any time
soon.
4. What
makes further delay in addressing
the role of religion unacceptable?
a. ...the desperate needs of
the human
family make further delay in addressing the role of religion
unacceptable.
Main Points:
- The historically justified
wall separating
the United Nations and religions must fall to the imperatives of a
world
struggling toward unity and justice.
- Religious followers and,
more important,
religious leaders must show that they are worthy partners in the great
mission of building a sustainable world civilization.
- The acceptance of religion
as a partner
of the United Nations will be gradual.
- Nevertheless, the current
dire situation
faced by humanity no longer allows a delay in addressing the role of
religion
in sustainable development.
Section IV -- Religion and the United Nations: Possible Next Steps
Questions:
1. How might the UN
begin to involve
religious leaders in deliberations on humankind's future?
a. For its part, the United
Nations might
begin the process of substantively involving religion in deliberations
on humankind's future by hosting an initial gathering of religious
leaders
convoked, perhaps, by the Secretary-General.
2. What
action might the religious leaders
call for as a first priority?
a. As a first priority, the
leaders might
call for a convention on freedom of religion and belief to be drafted
and
ratified, as expeditiously as possible, by the governments of the
world,
with the assistance of religious communities.
3. What
would such an action signal,
and what would be its affect?
a. Such an action by the
world's religious
leaders... would signal their willingness to accept freedom of
conscience
for all peoples [and] would significantly reduce tensions in the world.
4. Which
religious leaders should be
invited to participate in a permanent religious forum at the UN?
a. Only those religious
leaders who make
it clear to their followers that prejudice, bigotry and violence have
no
place in the life of a religious person should be invited to
participate
in the work of this body.
Main Points:
- The UN might begin the
process of involving
religion in its deliberations by hosting a gathering of the world's
religious
leaders convoked, perhaps, by the Secretary General.
- A first priority for such a
gathering
might be to call for a convention on freedom of religion and belief, to
be drafted expeditiously, with the assistance of religious communities.
- Such a gathering might also
discuss
creation of a permanent religious forum at the UN patterned initially
perhaps
on the UN's recently founded Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
- Participation in such a
forum should
be open only to religious leaders who show that they are worthy of
participation
by making it clear to their followers that prejudice, bigotry and
violence
have no place in the life of a religious person.
Section V -- The Promised Reign of Peace and Justice
Questions:
1. What will be the
effect of further
delay by the United Nations in meaningfully involving religion in its
work?
a. It is evident that the
longer the United
Nations delays the meaningful involvement of religion in its work, the
longer humanity will suffer the ravages of injustice and disunity.
2. With
whom, in large part, does the
responsibility of the plight of humanity rest, and what must they do?
a. ...the responsibility for
the plight
of humanity rests, in large part, with the world's religious leaders.
It
is they who must raise their voices to end the hatred, exclusivity,
oppression
of conscience, violations of human rights, denial of equality,
opposition
to science, and glorification of materialism, violence and terrorism,
which
are perpetrated in the name of religious truth.
3. What
must the followers of all religions
do to contribute to the realization of the long promised reign of peace
and justice on earth?
a. ...the followers of all
religions..
must transform their own lives and take up the mantle of sacrifice for
and service to the well-being of others, and thus contribute to the
realization
of the long-promised reign of peace and justice on earth.
Main Points:
- Any further delays by the
United Nations
in involving religion in its work, will only prolong humanity's
suffering
from the ravages of injustice and disunity.
- Ultimately, the
responsibility for the
plight of humanity rests with the world's religious leaders. Thus, they
must take the initiative in ending the many wrongs perpetrated in the
name
of religion.
- The followers of all
religions must
bring about the necessary change within their own lives and be willing
to sacrifice and serve for the well-being of humanity in order to bring
about the long-promised reign of peace and justice.
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Last updated 28 February 2005
