ABSTRACT
Worldwide, religious trends have the potential to reshape political assumptions in a way that has not been seen since the rise of modern nationalism. While we can imagine any number of possible futures, a worst-case scenario would include a wave of religious conflicts reminiscent of the Middle Ages, a new age of Christian crusades and Muslim jihads … In responding to that prospect, we need, at a minimum, to ensure that our political leaders and diplomats pay as much attention to religions and to sectarian frontiers as they ever have to the distribution of oil fields.
