CrossCurrents: Interreligious Dialogue and Diplomacy

Interreligious dialogue is increasingly perceived as an important factor in politics that can contribute to successful collaborations on a wide range of issues from containing local conflicts to tackling global climate change. While some see the dialogue of religious leaders as vital for bringing about a better world for all, others are more critical.

The essays in this special issue of CrossCurrents begin with questions about the relationship between interreligious dialogue and diplomacy. How are career diplomats trained in religious literacy and interacting with religious leaders? How are states trying to use diplomatic dialogue to further their goals, and how are religious actors negotiating their own agency? How political should interreligious dialogue be?

Contributors here are diplomats and scholars who present cases that examine the effectiveness of interreligious dialogue as a form of advancing political interests peacefully.

In the September 2022 issue of CrossCurrents:

“Editorial Introduction: Interreligious Dialogue and Diplomacy” by Melanie Barbato

“Diplomacy and interreligious dialogue: A generative model” by Pasquale Ferrara

“Interfaith Dialogue and Healthcare Diplomacy during Covid-19 and Beyond: Parameters, Opportunities, and Constraints” by Nukhet A. Sandal

“Putting Interfaith Dialogue on the Public Diplomacy Radar: Goals, Power, Strategies, and the Influence of Worldviews” by Juyan Zhang

“Bridging the Divides: Interreligious Diplomacy for Effective Peacebuilding” by Sharon Rosen

“Interreligious Engagement and Political Theory: Between Virtue Ethics and Religious Humanism” by Michael Daniel Driessen

“Diplomacy” and “The Fire and Sermon” poetry by Abhay K.

“Abu-Nimer, Mohammed & Renáta Katalin Nelson, eds., Evaluating Interreligious Peacebuilding and Dialogue: Methods and Frameworks.” reviewed by Richard McCallum