Nurturing Seeds: Religious Literacy as a Skill for Peaceful Engagement #1

Episode 1 of 3: Seeing Clearly: Contextualizing Religion in Global Policy – The Lived Religion Approach
Register now to join us in exploring how religious literacy and the lived religion approach can equip diplomats and policymakers to engage more thoughtfully in global affairs.

How can policymakers and diplomats better understand religion in today's global affairs? In this opening episode of three, we will explore more deeply with Professor Erin K Wilson her ‘lived religion’ approach, an analytical framework she introduced us to in the October 2024 webinar “Sowing Seeds of Peace”. Following particular steps, Erin equips global actors with tools to recognize religion as it is experienced and practised, not just theorized. She challenges conventional secular assumptions and calls for neither over- nor underestimating religion's role in all contexts of life.

Join us in this 30-minute online fireside discussion, where Erin will illustrate how religious dimensions can be more accurately understood in policy design, humanitarian coordination, and multilateral relations. This conversation aims to highlight why lifelong learning in religious literacy is essential in rapidly changing global contexts.

Building on the October 2024 webinar “Sowing Seeds of Peace: The Role of IRD Organisations in Promoting Religious Literacy in Education as a Contribution to Peace”, this three-part follow-up series deepens the conversation by spotlighting religious literacy as a practical skillset for navigating complex societal challenges. Hosted in collaboration with the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, the series brings back three thought leaders from the original panel for focused 30-minute fireside discussions exploring how lived, contextual understandings of religion can shape diplomacy, transform conflict engagement, and foster inclusion in education.

Moderated by Dr Kate Soules, Executive Director of the Religion and Education Collaborative, each session offers actionable insights into how religious literacy builds empathy, critical thinking, and cross-cultural competence—skills essential for peaceful engagement in today’s world:

•    17 July with Professor Erin K Wilson (Diplomacy and Global Affairs)
•    21 July with Dicky Sofjan (Conflict & Interfaith Engagement) [info & registration]
•    24 July with Daniel Del Nido (Education & Inclusion) [info & registration]

SPEAKERS

Erin K Wilson

Professor Erin K. Wilson is Chair of Politics and Religion in the Faculty of Religion, Culture, and Society at the University of Groningen. She studied Political Sciences and was awarded a PhD by the University of Queensland in 2008. Her work explores hidden assumptions that shape how different actors understand what "religion" is and does and how that impacts (often detrimentally) policy and decision-making across diverse institutions in the public sphere, at national and global levels. Her work is intended to be practical for politicians and policy-makers. Prof Wilson provides regular training on understanding religion in world politics for various foreign ministries and NATO Defense College. She is passionate about social justice, human rights, and building inclusive sustainable societies. She has worked in universities in Australia and the Netherlands most of her career, collaborating with government and civil society stakeholders to develop bottom-up research projects and training programs. Professor Wilson is also an advisor for the Transatlantic Policy Network on Religion and Diplomacy, and an award-winning teacher and scholar . Her publications include Religion and World Politics: Connecting Theory with Practice (Routledge, 2022); The Refugee Crisis and Religion (co-edited with Luca Mavelli, Rowman and Littlefield, 2016); After Secularism (Palgrave 2012); and articles on human rights, the right to freedom of religion or belief and global justice.

MODERATOR(S)

Kate Soules

Kate Soules is an education researcher and independent consultant specializing in religious literacy and religious diversity education. She is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Religion and Education Collaborative (REC), an interdisciplinary network of scholars and practitioners working at the intersections of religion and schooling. Kate’s work focuses on assessing and evaluating religious literacy education, teacher professional learning about religion, and the impacts of religious literacy education for both students and educators. She has collaborated with various organizations, including the Aspen Institute’s Religion and Society Program and the American Academy of Religion.

Where Zoom online

Time 02:00 PM Europe/Lisbon