Intercultural Dialogue in a Global World

The need of Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue in a Global World.

The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed the International Decade for the Rapprochement of  intercultural and interreligious dialogue (2013-2022: Proclamation of the International Decade for the Rapprochement of intercultural and interreligious dialogue).

I invite you to participate in a global conversation on intercultural and interreligous dialogue within the framework of either this blog or the UNESCO/UC3M Unesco Chair in Public Freedoms and Civic Values.

Possible topics for the debate follow:

The gender perspective should be included in debate. As it is underlined in the GA Resolution, human rights protection is a precondition for any intercultural or interreligious dialogue. In other words, Human rights should be the basis for any global conversation. In this regard, religions and cultures should be examined from the perspective of human rights and women’s vision is crucial for engaging in this examination.

On the level of the States, the constitutional formula governing the relation of a State with religions might have implications for interreligious dialogue within the State.  What is the scope of State’s neutrality towards religions? Is neutrality a necessary precondition for any meaningful interreligious dialogue between State? Can neutrality exist in non-secular States?

Also on the States’ level, the question arises whether accommodation of religious diversity into the States’ legal order through legal pluralist formulas might be deemed as a manifestation of interreligious dialogue. Legal pluralism in this regard could be seen as the legal response to religious diversity within the State. Legal pluralism is also a way to accommodate cultural pluralism.

There is also need to promote and do further research on shared values. International Law, particularly peremptory rules of international law and human rights law, are necessary points of reference. However culture and religion should find accommodation in the fundamental values as enshrined in international law. The identification of cultural and religious sensitive shared values will help build up a common language for global conversations. It might be contended that shared values should arise from the law-culture-religion triangle.

Another topic for analysis is democracy. With regard to democracy it becomes gradually clear that one size does not fit all. The democratic formulas coming from the Western world need to be transformed in order to adapt to different social, cultural and religious realities. In order to find acceptable democratic equations culture and religion should be taken into consideration.

Etc, etc.....

Do you want to participate in this global conversation on interreligious and intercultural dialogue?