Religion’s Roles in Peacebuilding: The 29th Annual Law and Religion Symposium

The ICLRS held its 29th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, “Religion’s Roles in Peacebuilding,” 1–5 October 2022. While the Covid pandemic restricted Symposia to online meetings in 2020 and 2021, this year’s Symposium gathered more than 80 delegates from 40 countries for sessions and related events at the J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, and in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. The following select presentations are illustrative of the depth and breadth of the Symposium’s 90-plus presentations.

Participants of the 29th ICLRS Annual Law and Religion Symposium

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Understanding Religion’s Roles in Peacebuilding

James Christie is Ambassador-at-Large for the Canadian Multifaith Federation. The following is an edited summary of his remarks at the ICLRS 29th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, 3 October 2022.

It is not my custom to dedicate a particular paper or talk to any one person, but in this case, I wish to make an exception. Recently the world, and my country especially, lost the Honorable the Reverend Professor William Alexander Blaikie, one of Canada’s longest-serving politicians and Social Democrats, statesman, and the director of the Knowles-Woodsworth Centre for Theology and Public Policy, which came under my administrative purview many years ago. His contributions were enormous, and I should like to dedicate these thoughts to the inspiration of Bill and his memory. May he rest in peace.

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Why Religious Freedom Matters to Me: The 2022 Religious Freedom Annual Review

The 2022 Religious Freedom Annual Review, held on 16 June at Brigham Young University, focused on the theme “Living Peaceably: Religious Freedom as a Foundation for Religious Harmony.”

Panelists in the opening plenary session shared personal reflections on “Why Religious Freedom Matters to Me.” Edited summaries of their presentations are available below; links to videos of the opening session and other sessions are available here.

Reverend Marian Edmonds-Allen presenting on the importance of religious freedom for all

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