The 2021 G20 Interfaith Forum: Remarks from Church Leaders and ICLRS Speakers

The International Center for Law and Religion Studies speakers at the 2021 G20 Interfaith Forum Summit in Bologna, Italy along with leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Summit Theme is “A Time to Heal.”

Posts in the Series:

Cole Durham, Jr., Welcome and Overview

Elder Ronald A. Rasband, Religious Freedom and Its Impact on Minority Religions

Sister Sharon Eubank, Religious Commitments to Global Sustainable Development  Focusing on Child Hunger, Water, and Sanitation

Brett G. Scharffs, Our “Kairos” Moment: The G20 and the Challenge of Immunizing the World

David H. Moore, Religion’s Impact on World Issues and the Necessity of Freedom of Religion

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Continue Reading The 2021 G20 Interfaith Forum: Remarks from Church Leaders and ICLRS Speakers

Summary of Remarks: Welcome and Overview

W. Cole Durham, Jr., retired in August 2019 as Susa Young Gates University Professor of Law at Brigham Young University, is Founding Director of the BYU Law School’s International Center for Law and Religion Studies

The G20 has historically focused on global economic matters, growing out of the 2008 economic crisis. Since then, it has moved more toward the UN Sustainable Development goals, and in its annual meetings, the host country can choose the emphasis and theme of the meeting. The G20 Interfaith Forum has participated in the G20 process since 2014, contributing to a recognition that religious leaders and actors have a role to play in the formation and implementation of global policy. Religious voices must have an impact on policy at a global level. Around 80% of the world’s population is religiously affiliated in some way, so religious voices and actors play a very significant role in many aspects of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

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Summary of Remarks: “Religious Freedom and Its Impact on Minority Religions”

Elder Ronald A. Rasband is a Member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The organizers of the G20 Interfaith Forum invited Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to discuss religious freedom and its impact on minority religions In his remarks in front of global religious leaders he spoke of the beginnings of the Church—itself once a minority. From its humble 19th-century start in New York and its turbulent times in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois, the Church is now a worldwide faith of nearly 17 million members.

“When religion is given the freedom to flourish, believers everywhere perform simple and sometimes heroic acts of service,” Elder Rasband said. “We stand shoulder to shoulder in service with many of you.”

Elder Rasband outlined the service the Church has done with others during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 alone, he said, service included contributions to COVAX to provide nearly 1.5 billion COVID-19 vaccines, 26 million meals given to the hungry, and 294 service projects for refugees in 50 countries.

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