Symposium Confronts Crisis in Global Cooperation Where Faith Meets Global Values
At a Church and Society–initiated symposium, speakers address the crisis in multilateralism and the moral questions it raises about how communities and nations move forward.
Last month, nearly 500 participants gathered at the Church Center for the United Nations and online for the 12th Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations in International Affairs, an initiative launched 13 years ago by the General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church, the World Council of Churches, and the General Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
Held under the theme “Faith Meets Global Values: Crisis and Promise of Multilateralism,” the symposium engaged faith leaders, civil society partners, and international institutions in a series of panels that discussed the evolving role of the United Nations and faith-based perspectives on global cooperation.
Rev. Dr. Liberato Bautista, Church & Society’s assistant general secretary for United Nations and International Affairs, moderated the panel, “The Crisis of Multilateralism,” and focused on what he called “a shared reckoning for the healing of the nations and the body politic.”
Impact on real people and communities
The challenges facing multilateralism are not confined to institutions but felt in communities around the world.
In his remarks, Bautista emphasized that the issues under discussion could not be reduced to technical debates.
“The questions before us are therefore not merely technical or procedural,” he said. “They are moral. They bear directly on how we live together in an increasingly fragile and deeply interdependent world.”
“These dynamics are not abstract,” said Dr. Kiki Didigu, senior strategic partnerships specialist at the United Nations Population Fund. “They have real implications for real people and real communities. Faith-based organizations, religious actors are not peripheral to these dynamics—rather they are deeply embedded in them.”
Religious actors: part of the problem and part of the solution
Prof. Dr. Azza Karam, CEO of Lead Integrity and former secretary general of Religions for Peace, who collaborated in the launching of the symposium in 2015, said the crisis in multilateralism extends beyond political systems to religious institutions. “I think these days, collaboration should never be taken for granted,” she said, adding that while the United Nations often takes clear positions, religious institutions do not always reflect that same unity.
“Wars—they are justified by a religious narrative,” she said. “There is zero value added politically to multilateralism if the religious organizations continue as they are today.”
Peter Prove, director of international affairs at the World Council of Churches, implored faith communities to align words with action. “We cannot preach to the system if we are not practicing that cooperation, that unity, that engagement,” he said.
Calls for participation and inclusion
A consistent message emerged across the discussions: addressing the current moment will require participatory engagement from those most affected by the crisis. “The voices of those most affected, including civil society and faith actors as custodians of moral memory, cannot be marginalized in decisions made on their behalf,” Bautista said.
Dr. Adam Lupel of the Coalition for the UN We Need said that civil society is most impactful when engaged as part of the community. “The research is robust about including women in peace processes,” he said.
“It means you will have more success, more chance of coming to agreement. That’s not just because you have women at the table but it’s because women are connected to civil society.”
Church and Society presented with a handmade quilt
Following the symposium, participants gathered for lunch, during which Ms. Nancy Schaadt of Pennsylvania presented a gift of a handmade quilt to Church and Society. Titled Transformation, the quilt imagines a world moving from conflict and division toward unity and connection.
“For connection to occur, transformation must happen,” she said. “All the countries and religions must become like beads on a string and become one.”
The quilt has been installed at Church and Society’s office at the Church Center for the United Nations. Positioned to face the United Nations Headquarters, the artwork serves as a symbol of keeping watch over the institution’s promises to protect human dignity and human rights, promote peace and security, and implement sustainable development.
Faith and multilateralism
The United Methodist Book of Resolutions states: “These are what truly constitute multilateralism: evolving and living into a truly just, peaceable, participatory, and sustainable international community.” (2020/2024 Book of Resolutions, #4114, “The United Nations and Multilateralism”)
The conversations at the symposium reflect a call for a deeper commitment to bringing communities and nations together like beads on a string
Related Resources
- Watch the recording of the event
- Learn about Church and Society’s United Nations Ministry.
- Faith and Facts Cards: Multilateralism
