'God gap' impedes U.S. foreign policy, task force says

Source: David Waters, The Washington Post

American foreign policy is handicapped by a narrow, ill-informed and "uncompromising Western secularism" that feeds religious extremism, threatens traditional cultures and fails to encourage religious groups that promote peace and human rights, according to a two-year study by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

The council's 32-member task force, which included former government officials and scholars representing all major faiths, delivered its report to the White House on Tuesday. The report warns of a serious "capabilities gap" and recommends that President Obama make religion "an integral part of our foreign policy."

Thomas Wright, the council's executive director of studies, said task force members met Tuesday with Joshua DuBois, head of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and State Department officials. "They were very receptive, and they said that there is a lot of overlap between the task force's report and the work they have been doing on this same issue," Wright said.

DuBois declined to comment on the report but wrote on his White House blog Tuesday: "The Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnership and the National Security Staff are working with agencies across government to analyze the ways the U.S. government engages key non-governmental actors, including religious institutions, around the globe."

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/23/AR2010022305103_pf.html

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I don't get it. The same people pushing for the US to be a Christian nation usually also support interventionist foreign policy. And now some think tank accuses US foreign policy of being too secularly biased.

that seems to dominate a whole bunch of cults and sects these days...

Horrible idea. Too much of that now!

dose of Newspeak, Newthink, garbage.

Need I say that, even? I imagine that most, (regardless of their leanings) can see just how blatant that kind of pretzel agitprop is. It does not fit the picture, but with enough effort and repetition, it certainly could be made to. Are we on to something, now?

"Reality is what you can get away with." - Robert Anton Wilson

Who would have thought they would find that we needed more religion?

You put a bunch of people representing religious organizations on a panel, and they conclude that religious organizations ought to have more influence.

You could knock me over with a feather!

Well, if they are "religious" I guess it goes without saying...

I think not. I can't believe people get paid to write garbage like that.

damages our credibility in the international community.

A lack of religion hardly causes religious extremism. Religious extremism feeds on itself.

However, for that to be the case, they would have to be flat out lying or clearly distorting the findings of the study. If that is the case, I expect we should hear about it soon.

From wikipedia:



It also sounds like the report makes some legitimate recommendations (the report is actually online, but I couldn't access it - I kept getting errors on the page - not sure if its my problem or a problem with the report). From the article cited in the OP:

that appeared in the Chicago Tribune. They don't seem to be particularly concerned about religious issues. And their recommendations in this report look legitimate to me. When you are dealing with other cultures, you have to at least consider that culture. That seems to be their concern in this report.

IMHO the US should be sensitive on religious issues while dealing with nations and cultures that place a lot of emphasis on religion. Most of the wars today are fueled by misunderstanding and cynicism. If understanding their religion and culture provides a way to peace and coexistence, so be it.

until the '08 primary.

Supposedly all major faiths are represented...wish they listed some of them besides the Christian Coalition.

Highly suspect in their attempts to regulate/control US foreign policy using religion.

"The United States Is Not A Christian Nation." Treaty of Tripoli, 1797.

Lets get rid of the White House office of faith etc.

If not, I think that's rather odd. Like teaching a math class w/o the concept of 0.

by the ignorance, hatred and bigotry perpetrated by the believers.

Jonathan Swift got it right in Gulliver's Travels.

See also, original Star Trek series Episode 70 "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_That_Be_Your_Last_Battlefield


If religion disappeared tomorrow, we'd still have the same number of wars, maybe more.

Any organizations that is 'faith based' should be ignored. They should not be turned to for policy advice and they should not be funded.

Yes, they scare me, but my principle reaction is one of true revulsion.

When the article says "ill-informed and 'uncompromising Western secularism'" to me that is code-speak for fundamental Christianity.

I know, they can't say it, but it sort of looks to me like they are saying that the US (by virtue of having a "no official" religion status) has erred on the side of the "non-official" state religion, which we ALL know is Christianity. Only they call it "secularism" and wink and nod amongst themselves.

So in a sense, they are correct. That has certainly fucked us up royally abroad.

Establishment Clause in the hopper (along with most of the rest of the Bill of Rights)?

Sometimes, irony is amusing. Sometimes, it's sickening. This is one of the sickening times.

Hi,
Hope you don't mind me barging into the debate here.

The Washington Post article was somewhat misleading. Contra the Post, the report did not actually say that US FP is handicapped by a God Gap (a term never used in the report) or by an uncompromising secularism (this was only raised in the context of alternative strategies). The report acknowledges that religion has caused problems in U.S. foreign policy just as not understanding religion has. You only need to look at the outrageous situation in Uganda or the framing of the fight against terrorism as religious to understand that. A better understanding of religion in US foreign policy may actually help reduce its negative impact by helping the US avoid actions that are religious in nature. These two articles might help clarify the report's findings

http://tinyurl.com/yd2jykl

and

http://tinyurl.com/ylzmxsj

Thanks for the lively debate,

Thomas Wright

web page (http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/taskforce_details.php?taskforce_id=10) to the report. Whenever I try to access the report I get an error - the file is damaged. It may be my problem, but do you know if that is intentional? Thanks.

I think it's your computer as it's generally working ok-- email me directly (twright@thechicagocouncil.org) and I will send you a pdf version.