By Jonathan Gallagher, Ph.D.
New York, NY, USA? [December 16, 2008] Representatives from the United Nations and religious leaders met together with non-government organizations in New York Tuesday to promote greater cooperation between the UN and religious groups worldwide. The intent in the words of the organizers is “to explore new ways and means to advance cooperation between the world’s religious communities and the United Nations.”
In his welcome, Dr Sunggon Kim, a Korean MP and permanent director of the International Peace Corps of Religions, said that “religion is all about peace within, politics is about peace on the outside. To create wholesome peace we need cooperation between religion and politics. The UN should play the role of a good father in the global family, while interfaith organizations should play the role of good mother. We need to advance cooperation.”
Giving the keynote address, Dr. William Vendley, secretary general of Religions for Peace, identified three main reasons for cooperation between the UN and religions: peace is a common concern of both governments and religions; religions have assets for peace-building; and there is already a revolution of cooperation among different religions around the world. “Religions are not just made up of wonderful people carrying buckets to put out a fire,” he said, but could effectively make a great difference in society. “Religious communities are learning to become bilingual,” he noted, meaning that they were developing the ability to speak another religion’s language. What was needed, he conclude, were “principled partnerships between religions, governments, and the United Nations.”
Other speakers for religious groups agreed. “All religious teachings have a positive role in building peace among individuals and institutions as we put people first above all other things,” commented Ven. Hyun-Jong, director of research at the Institute for Buddhist Studies in Korea. “Faith communities are here to stay, and are sometimes more trusted than governments,” noted Mrs Helen Grace Wangusa, Anglican representative to the UN, and detailed many examples of Christian contributions to peace-building. Dr. Sayyid Syeed, secretary general of the Islamic Society of North America emphasized the need for tolerance and mutual respect, saying that “true respect between religions is to respect one another’s beliefs and practices? diversity is a manifestation of our Creator’s will.” Consequently, “religions must recognize truth,” and produce “a new message for a new millennium,” he said.
Many other contributors noted the major shift in attitudes towards religion at the UN. “There’s a growing realization in the United Nations of the role of religion in promoting peace in the widest sense,” commented Mrs. Judith Hertz, co-chair of the Commission on Inter-religious Affairs of Reformed Judaism. “It’s a sea-change, a paradigm shift at the UN,” added Rev. Chris Ferguson, the World Council of Churches representative to the UN. Dr. Azza Karam, Senior Culture Advisor at the UN Population Fund looked for “issue-based strategic alliances” between UN agencies and religious organizations, while Ms. Liza Barrie, chief of Civil Society Partnerships at UNICEF said that they had “long recognized the potential for religious organizations to contribute to the welfare especially of children,” and that “such work together can be practical, inspirational, and respective of different faiths.”
The day conference , sponsored by the Korean government and organized by Religions for Peace and other peace-related organizations, brought together some 100 leaders from various sectors of society including government, religious groups, and UN agencies.