Strategic Opportunities does Religious Engagement Create

"WHICH STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES DOES RELIGIOUS ENGAGEMENT CREATE FOR FOREIGN-POLICY MAKERS"
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"Which Strategic Opportunities Does Religious Engagement Create For Foreign-Policy Makers"
Introduction
Research shows that a country's foreign policies are its formal stance on various issues that ultimately affect its relationship with other countries at economic, political, military, and social levels (Warner and Walker, 2011 p. 114). However, the role of religion in framing foreign policies related to international relations has always been both crucial and controversial. Scholars are divided on whether adherence to religious doctrines would provide opportunities to safeguard universal human rights or further aggravate violation and suppression of human rights. Despite the difference in opinions among scholars regarding the role of religion in foreign policy, real-life examples of the establishment of religion-based foreign policies do exist. For instance, American president Eisenhower successfully launched a cold war doctrine based on the notion of the fight of God against communist atheism. He successfully integrated ideologies of various faiths to deal with the communist threat to the free world (Warner and Walker, 2011 p. 113). Since religion is one of the most significant aspects of human societies and plays a vital role in shaping public and individual opinions, it is imperative to understand the extent of the role of religion in the making of successful and friendly foreign policies. This essay, therefore, aims to discuss various approaches of integration of religion in foreign policy and analyze the pros and cons of each approach. Finally, this essay analyzes two examples of integration of religion in foreign policy to understand the significance and impact of religion on the foreign policy of a country and estimate the extent of strategic opportunities that religion can provide for foreign policymakers.
Role of Religion in Shaping Foreign Policies
According to one scholar, religion and religious ideologies can significantly affect a country's foreign policies and, in turn, its international relations by influencing its domestic policies. In countries such as Iran, the USA, and India, the role of the "soft power" that religion wields to influence foreign policy is indispensable. Research finds that the establishment of illogical and inconsistent foreign policies of several countries may be attributed to the influence of prevalent norms and customs of their societies (Haynes, 2008 p. 144). In several countries, religious traditions and pressure groups have successfully moulded the foreign policy to cater to their demands and ideologies. For instance, in the United States, evangelist groups vehemently opposed the decision of funding other countries for the promotion of abortion and contraceptives, and this instance is more than enough to estimate the role of faith in influencing even governments as liberal as the United States (Haynes, 2008 p. 145).
Likewise, compelled by the devastation conducted by Muslim extremists and instigated by the anti-Muslim fervour, president George W. Bush used the religious card to frame his foreign policy after 9/11. Another such example is Turkey, whose foreign policies initially showed a strong tilt towards western models, now moving towards adopting more religion-centric foreign and domestic policies (Warner and Walker, 2011 p. 114). Moreover, the role of conflicting religious ideologies in shaping the foreign policies of Saudi Arabia and Iran in their rivalries is another example of the role of religion in international relations (Mandaville and Hamid, 2018 p. 1). These examples provide a glimpse into the overwhelming role that religion could play in shaping a country stance on national and international issues and make it clear that integration of religion and religious ideals in foreign policy is a common practice despite the contentions it may entail at political, social, and cultural levels.
Integration of Religion in Foreign Policies: Modern Approaches
There has been a growing trend of incorporating religious teachings and ideals in global initiatives against various problems and challenges in recent years. This incorporation makes it mandatory for the countries participating in a global campaign to make faith-related approaches an integral part of their foreign and domestic policies. In this regard, reliance on faith-based organizations (FBOs) and adherence to the principle of freedom of religion and belief (FoRB) have become two novel approaches towards successful and meaningful engagement of religious tenets in the strategies to combat global issues and in matters related to international relations. The following paragraphs elaborate on the nature, aims, and success of these approaches.
Reliance on Faith-based Organizations
A clique of people of the most diverse origin based on a commonly shared faith or religious belief is called a faith-based organization. In the early 1990s, sociologists belonging to western societies began to discuss the role of faith-based organizations in facilitating social services programs. The role of religious organizations in providing social services both at domestic and international was deliberately neglected on the pretext that modernization had limited the role of religions in national and international politics. However, it is undeniable that in the pre-modern era, religious organizations spearheaded social services in almost all European societies (Bielefeld and Cleveland, 2013 p. 443). Nevertheless, the reemergence of the view of the use of FBOs for global and local social, political, peace, and environmental campaigns has triggered a vigorous and heated debate over the potential harms and benefits associated with the incorporation of these organizations in global political and social issues. Given the hatred and extremists propagated by a host of religious organizations, scholars were genuinely concerned about the potential benefits or harms associated with these outfits' activities under state patronage.
Nevertheless, several researchers, scholars, and religious and spiritual leaders have provided irrefutable proof of the role of faith in establishing peace and prosperity in society. In a symposium conducted to elaborate on the role of religion in maintaining global peace and stability by influencing foreign policy, scholars of different religions provided compelling evidence to substantiate the significance of religion in resolving global issues. Henry Crowe, representing Christianity, reflected on how faith can bring about a peaceful and agreeable solution to global conflicts. Another scholar also emphasized the growing role of religion-based organizations at an international level with specific reference to the United Nations (GBCS., 2022). These facts substantiate the notion that the role of FBOs in resolving global issues is undeniable, and the incorporation of religious ideologies in foreign policy could provide a more satisfactory solution to global problems.
In this regard, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) efforts during the 2011 drought crisis in countries located in the Horn of Africa are worth mentioning. Zeenat Rehman, acting director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Initiatives, said that to save approximately 13.3 million people from starvation, they mainly relied on awareness campaigns centred around working in collaboration with faith-based organizations of the region (Steenland, 2011). This successful example of using faith-based organizations to resolve an international humanitarian crisis manifests that the integration of religious organizations and ideals can become, at times, a substantiate aid in accomplishing tasks at the global level.
Another recent example of the incorporation of faith-based organizations is the renewed interest of the U.S. State Department as it now deems incorporation of religious leaders and communities of different faiths to accomplish its global objectives, including the provision of humanitarian help, the establishment of democratic values, avoiding national and international conflicts, and maintaining peace and security (Rees, 2015). These examples provide a somewhat explicit understanding of the growing role of religion in resolving global issues like combating HIV spread and gender-based violence and promoting global development. Consequently, this novel approach turns out to be a panacea for global peace and stability.
Practising Freedom of Religion and Beliefs (FoRB)
Integration of freedom of Religion and Beliefs is one of the emerging trends in international politics, although it is not a new phenomenon. Over the years, scholars have produced pithy discussions about the significance of the integration of FoRB in state foreign policy. Scholars and political scientists unanimously agree to establish durable peace and security, whereas governments and nations have to allow the establishment of freedom of practice of religion in their societies (Hyvärinen and Leino-Nzau, 2013). The underlying principle behind FoRB is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that categorically establishes that freedom of practice of one's religion is one of the fundamental human rights. However, as annual reports of the U.S. State Department indicate, one of the major problems faced by humanity across the globe is the persecution of people in the name of religion and faiths both at the inter-state and domestic level (Marsden, 2020 p. 1). Under this grave scenario, the adoption of FoRB has become virtually mandatory for all countries of the world.
During the initial phases of the modern era, the role of religion in shaping foreign affairs of a country was generally discounted; however, several pieces of research and real-life examples have verified the fact that religion forms the core of foreign policy and also, to a greater extent determines the "national interest" of a country (Rees, 2015). In recent years several examples of international conflicts based on religious hatred a...