Interfaith Conversations at the United Nations

Posted: 02/07/2015 5:57 am EST
Updated: 3 hours ago
Katherine Marshall
Senior Fellow, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University

It's interfaith harmony week. This is one of many special times that United Nations member states have agreed upon to focus on a problem or issue. Interfaith Harmony week began in 2010, a sort of middle path between more far-reaching efforts to focus on religious matters in a UN setting, and a not insignificant current of unease about even broaching the topic. The idea is that around the world groups use the platform to engage in different activities. This year, with horrendous religious tensions so much in evidence, the week takes on a special significance.

I was invited to speak at an event at the United Nations in New York on Friday, marking the occasion. It was a harmonious gathering. Inspirational and hopeful words were spoken, to a scattered hall of official country representatives and a more spirited group of civil society representatives, far at the back. Peace and harmony were the theme songs, and the hopeful message was that religious institutions are today better understood and taken far more seriously than at any point in the history of the UN.

I began with a story, a parable of the demanding and fascinating interfaith movement.

An improbable collaboration unfolded some years ago in Accra. A group of Muslim, Christian and traditional religious leaders came together several times to build an interreligious partnership with the Ghanaian government and the World Bank. Their focus was garbage and sanitation. They crafted positive messages that resonated with the different faiths, centered on cleanliness and godliness. They framed a pristine city as a religious struggle and goal. They used media creatively to energize people, young and old. Moral arguments were combined with a practical bent: Ghanaian pride in the face of an upcoming international sporting event. Volunteers were mobilized. Schoolchildren did cleanup campaigns. Stagnant pools were filled in. Health and sanitation were linked, in minds and in practice.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katherine-marshall/interfaith-conversations_b_6632324.html

http://www.un.org/en/events/interfaithharmonyweek/