ABSTRACT
It is almost a truism that "religion is back" in international relations. Those of us concerned with religion and international ethics, however, have worked to expose and interrogate the barely hidden anxieties and ethical assumptions that continue to underpin this return and shape scholarship. This chapter discusses some of the important issues and questions that can be opened up with a broader focus. It is important to recognize that assumptions about religious ethics in international politics continue to reflect the concerns of the "secularization thesis," which asserted for decades that modernization, and hence progress, could only occur with the "progressive" secularization of states and societies around the world. The Ethics and International Relations Handbook sets out parameters for important components of the innovative work, while also recalling aspects of ongoing debates that require continued or further excavation and examination.
