ABSTRACT
The gap between the challenges we face at the global level and our ability to respond collectively is widening. In 2020, public authorities are making important value judgements as they respond to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Citizens, for their part, are making sacrifices for the community; the term ‘front line’ has acquired a new meaning. All over the world, we glimpse new horizons, even in the literal sense, as pollution lifts. Against this background, a dialogue is developing on the extent of international interdependence and how it is best managed. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) point towards a common plan for humanity. ‘Social capital’ and other features of a strong political culture are a primary focus of the world’s religions. Freedom of religion or belief is a core value in our societies. At this epochal moment, international organisations should use their convening power to build on these realities and bring about new, multilayered, consultative processes, inclusive of the representatives of religion, as an extra dimension within the wider project of making multilateral diplomacy fit-for-purpose. It is fruitful for public authorities to engage with a religious perspective because of the role of knowledge in the policy-making process – which the Introduction examines briefly from four angles: religious literacy, collective psychology, moral discernment, and personal communication. Interaction between public authorities and religious confessions can help the religions themselves to distinguish their permanent core values from attitudes and practices that cannot easily be defended in a society oriented towards the interests of all.
