Secure Approaches to Religion in Multilateral Settings

Chapter Seven: Deconstructing and Reconstructing Secular Approaches to Religion in Multilateral Settings
Author: Azza Karam

Challenges in Engaging Policymakers

  • Core Challenge: Engaging policymakers on sensitive issues that are perceived as religious and often politicized, which can lead to discomfort, misunderstanding, or outright resistance within a secular institutional framework.

  • Identity of a Faith Warrior: Navigating the complexities of representing and advocating for faith-related issues within inherently secular institutions like the UN, requiring a delicate balance between personal conviction and organizational neutrality.

Secular Character of the United Nations

  • Nature of the UN:

    • The United Nations is fundamentally a secular organization, designed not to endorse or represent any singular faith tradition, ensuring impartiality among its diverse member states.

    • It operates based on universal values, such as human dignity, equality, and peace, which are widely recognized as having roots in various faith traditions, as explicitly reflected in its foundational charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

  • Logical Secularism:

    • This secular nature is crucial for ensuring unbiased representation and equitable treatment for all 193 member governments, promoting an agenda free from any specific religious doctrine or bias.

    • Staff members are considered international civil servants, bound by an oath to serve solely the organization, free from national, religious, ethnic, or gender affiliations, upholding the UN's impartial stance.

Institutional Identity

  • The UN's secular identity profoundly shapes its organizational worldview and operational culture, where personal religious affiliations are generally kept private and are not a basis for professional interaction or decision-making.

  • Karam's personal dedication since joining the UN in 2004, leveraging her extensive background in politics, development, and human rights activism, underscores her commitment to the UN's principles despite facing criticisms regarding the UN's engagement with religion.

Personal Journey as a Faith Warrior

  • Early Influences:

    • Growing up in a deeply religiously infused family, where faith was not merely an abstract concept but an integral and lived component of daily life and social interaction.

    • Exposure to varied communities and belief systems in multicultural environments (e.g., India, Romania, Italy) fostered an early understanding and appreciation for religious diversity and its societal impact.

  • Political Climate of Egypt:

    • The evident intertwining of religion and politics during President Gamal Nasser's era, characterized by state-sponsored religious institutions and the strategic use of religious rhetoric, highlighted the powerful influence of religion on public life and governance.

  • Professional Identity:

    • Becoming a “faith warrior” through direct confrontation with issues of religious fundamentalism, challenges to governance, and advocating for women's rights, recognizing the essential role of faith in these complex areas.

    • A realization of a universal divine presence across diverse belief systems, leading to an emphasis on the common underlying principle of love and reverence for the Divine, transcending doctrinal differences.

Challenges within the UN System

  • Resource Spending on Religion:

    • A notable lack of accurate estimates on UN resources specifically dedicated to engaging religious organizations, largely due to deep-seated organizational silos within the budgetary and reporting structures that do not categorize spending by religious engagement.

    • Difficulty in compiling comprehensive, system-wide data covering all UN agencies stems from their independent operational frameworks and varied approaches to external partnerships.

  • Census of Religious Affiliation:

    • The 2012 Pew Research finding that 5.8 billion individuals (84% of the global population) identify as religiously affiliated raises critical questions about the adequacy and effectiveness of the UN's current metrics and strategies for global engagement, given the vast majority of the world's population holds religious beliefs.

Arab Human Development Reports (AHDR)

  • Initiation:

    • Created under the leadership of Dr. Rima Khalaf within UNDP following the events of 9/11 and the subsequent global focus on the Middle East, with an explicit mandate to objectively assess critical democratic and developmental deficits in the Arab world.

  • Religious Dynamics Ignored:

    • The initial reports were criticized for their lack of substantial references to religious influences, despite the profound political, social, and cultural significance of religion in the Arab world, leading to an incomplete analysis of regional challenges.

  • Cultural Resistance:

    • UNDP’s institutional culture was often dismissive or uncomfortable with religious discourse, viewing it as outside the purview of development work, which hindered deeper engagement with faith-based perspectives.

Movement of Religions within UNFPA

  • When Karam joined UNFPA in 2007, the vision was to actively mobilize various religious communities to support critical universal human rights introspection, particularly concerning reproductive health and women's rights.

  • Challenges of Outreach:

    • Navigating deeply divergent religious stances on critical issues such as women's rights, sexual health, and family planning often met with significant reluctance or outright opposition from traditional religious leaders.

    • Recognizing faith-based organizations (FBOs) as crucial, often frontline, actors in community engagement and the implementation of health-related programs, especially in areas where formal government services are limited or mistrusted.

Findings from UNFPA Survey

  • A high percentage (over 85%) of UNFPA country offices reported actively engaging with religious communities, underscoring their acknowledged influence as cultural gatekeepers and opinion leaders within their respective societies.

  • Importance of Relationships:

    • Many religious leaders preferred low-profile collaborations and discreet partnerships to avoid public scrutiny and potential backlash from conservative elements within their communities regarding sensitive health services related to sexuality and reproductive rights.

Engagements and Partnerships

  • 1994 International Conference:

    • UNFPA's historic engagement with religious institutions traces its roots back to the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Program of Action, which explicitly emphasized the necessity of collaboration with, and understanding of, local cultural and faith dynamics to achieve population and development goals.

  • UN Interagency Task Force:

    • Established to streamline and coordinate engagement with FBOs across the entire UN system, fostering a shared commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) post-2015, recognizing FBOs as essential partners in global development efforts.

Reflection on Engagement Strategies

  • Overemphasis on Religious Leadership:

    • Risks misrepresentation of the broader diversity within faith communities by focusing predominantly on traditional, often male, religious leaders, potentially alienating women's perspectives and the voices of youth or marginalized groups within those faiths.

  • Moralizing the Agenda:

    • Proposes concerns regarding the prioritization of ethical or moralistic stances over practical, evidence-based service needs, which can inadvertently compromise fundamental human rights principles when engaging religious actors.

Conclusion and Forward-Looking Strategies

  • Emphasizing the profound interconnectedness of religion, culture, and human development as indispensable elements for fostering lasting peace, social cohesion, and sustainable progress.

  • Recognizing the critical importance of continuous learning and adaptive strategies for navigating complex interfaith dynamics effectively in multilateral settings.

  • Advocating for truly inclusive partnerships that respectfully honor both deeply held faith-based values and universal secular principles without oversimplifying, essentializing, or stereotyping diverse belief systems.

Notes and References

  1. United Nations staffing and operational statistics.

  2. Various data references supporting engagement with religious organizations in contemporary global issues.