Religious NGOs at the UN

This chapter examines how and why the UN has sought to further interreligious and intercultural dialogue through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations(UNAOC), and burgeoning numbers of religious non-governmental organizations (RNGO) seek to pursue interreligious and intercultural dialogue, sometimes working with the UNAOC to try and achieve that goal. There are hundreds of RNGOs registered at the UN. Many seek improved interreligious and intercultural dialogue and cooperation. The chapter examines three RNGOs are all members of the umbrella Committee for Religious NGOs at the UN. They are Religions for Peace, United Religions Initiative, and Bahai International Community. Two developments have made 'religion' of some significance at the UN. The first was the so-called 'clash of civilizations' and the subsequent aim to try to improve things via intercivilizational–that is, interreligious and intercultural–dialogue. Second, there was the impact of neoliberal globalization, drawing attention both to global inequalities and the need for enhanced global justice.