Religion’s Roles in Peacebuilding: Religion and Interfaith Engagement in Times of Conflict and Disaster

Sharon Eubank is director of Latter-day Saint Charities. The following is an edited summary of her remarks at the ICLRS 29th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, 4 October 2022.

As I see the great difficulties around the world, my greatest concern is that the rise of identity politics has pushed people into smaller and smaller boxes until they don’t have anything in common with anybody else. The question that galvanizes me is, What could we do as societies, cultures, and religious communities to weave social fabric back together? What practically would make that kind of difference? Today, I will pose three related questions, share some examples I’ve observed from around the world, and issue an invitation.

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Why Religious Freedom Matters to Me

Simran Jeet Singh is Executive Director of the Aspen Institute’s Religion & Society Program. The following is an edited summary of his remarks presented at the ICLRS 2022 Religious Freedom Annual Review, 16 June 2022.

My story begins in Texas. I’m not sure why my parents thought it would be good to leave their comfortable homes in India and emigrate to South Texas, but they did. And that is where my three brothers and I were born—brown-skinned, turban-wearing, beard-loving boys. We faced our share of challenges because of our visible religious identity. I am not saying life was terrible; we had wonderful, happy, normal childhoods. But part of our upbringing was dealing with racism on a daily basis because of how we looked and our religious identity. And those experiences shaped my commitment to the work of religious freedom.

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Why Religious Freedom Matters to Me

Reverend Marian Edmonds-Allen is Executive Director of Parity, a nonprofit that works at the intersection of faith and LGBTQ+ concerns. The following is an edited summary of her remarks presented at the ICLRS 2022 Religious Freedom Annual Review, 16 June 2022.

Religious freedom is our best hope for our country and for our world. At a time when divisions threaten to rend the very fabric of society, when seemingly intractable disagreements split communities and even families, it is religious freedom that is our very best hope.

That may seem like a strong statement, but I have a perhaps unusual perspective on religious freedom. I am a walking embodiment of our current divisions. You see, I am a person who scares people: I am a genderqueer, bisexual person and an ordained Christian pastor. I would guess that there is something about that statement that is surprising, if not a little bit scary, to people. In fact, when I introduce myself in faith contexts as LGBT, I can watch the body language in the room and see a reaction. And when I am speaking to LGBT groups and not wearing a clerical collar but “out” myself as clergy, I can, once again, watch people recoil. I am not offended. I understand the reaction because that used to be my reaction too.

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