We live in an interconnected world, bound together by common risks, hopes

and fears

At the turn of the 21st century, multi-faith initiatives have been extensively implemented as strategies to counter global risks—such as terrorism and climate change—and advance common security. The global multi-faith movement, usually seen as emerging from the first Parliament of the World’s Religions (PWR) in Chicago in 1893, has since its inception promoted understanding between faiths and recognition of human interdependence. It has also provided a platform for religious leaders and community members to challenge cultures of violence and exclusion propagated by religions themselves, by states, ideologies, and market forces. Drawing on the wisdom of multiple faith traditions, through common action to address social problems, the multi-faith movement has always embraced a peace-building imperative.

Multi-faith activities range from community meetings to promote religious tolerance in major American and European cities to projects bringing together Israeli and Palestinian youths, to promoting corporate responsibility, to raising awareness of the dangers of cluster bombs in the Cambodian countryside.

The focus of multi-faith initiatives has shifted in response to global risks and tragedies. The events of September 11, 2001, similar to previous atrocities such as the Holocaust and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, stimulated for multi-faith engagement at local, national and global levels. As global attention shifts immediately following a crisis, so too does the need to provide support to communities at risk. Multi-faith organisations reached out to Muslim communities, and Muslim communities became more active in initiating multi-faith and educational events to dispel negative stereotypes perpetuated by some politicians, religious leaders and media following September 11.

Responding to the homegrown nature of the London “7/7” bombings in 2005, youth also began playing a more prominent role in multi-faith initiatives, alongside a rise in women’s multi-faith networks. Multi-faith initiatives in some countries, such as Australia and the UK, also received more state funding as part of social cohesion and counter-extremism strategies.

Multi-faith efforts are widening in terms of engagement with institutions and issues. Academics, universities and NGOs are playing an important role as facilitators of multifaith initiatives and in conducting research on religion’s role in the public sphere. The United Nations began taking a stronger interest and role in multi-faith initiatives during the 2000s. And focus on environmental issues is again rising within the multi-faith movement.

This growth has been largely welcomed, as it has increased the movement’s visibility and legitimacy, but also raises significant concerns regarding the current and future direction of the movement. First, the growing proximity between religious and state actors, as they partner on various issues, raises questions whether such closeness might impede the critical voice of religious actors in the public sphere. Second, more conservative elements of diverse faith communities are joining the multi-faith movement as a new emphasis on practical action, in place of dialogue, has widened the movement’s activities. On the positive side, this has led some conservative actors to become more respectful of, and open-minded about, religious diversity. Conversely, the multi-faith movement may be in danger of compromising its peace-building potential — especially in relation to promoting gender equality and protecting the rights of minority groups — by giving conservative voices a platform within a traditionally liberal movement.

Both of these issues require further consideration, and reflect that the most critical problem of our era is not the so-called “clash of civilizations” but a clash between exclusivists and pluralists within civilizations. The ambivalent nature of religion can create both closed, exclusivist mindsets and open, pluralist ones. Multi-faith initiatives, due to their emphasis on valuing diversity and reflection, are capable of expanding people’s perspectives from ignorance to mutual understanding.

Acknowledgement of our interdependence and the ability to act altruistically, for the collective good, holds the key to our survival. Faith traditions confronting risks offer this much-needed wisdom, understanding that ultimately, despite our differences, “we are all in this together.” Finally, for multi-faith engagement to be truly effective it must be embodied in role models, in personal stories and real world relationships. It is these interactions that can expand mindsets of tolerance and cooperation at the individual and eventually, hopefully, at the collective and global level.

Dr Anna Halafoff is an expert in the fields of multifaith relations, religion and peacebuilding. She is a lecturer in Sociology, and in Politics for the Global Terrorism Research Centre (GTReC), at the School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University.

This article is part of the series ‘Religion, Politics & the Public Space’

in collaboration with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and its Global Experts project (www.theglobalexperts.org)

The views expressed in these articles are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nation Alliance of Civilisations or of the institutions to which the authors are affiliated.