Posted on by Mark Movsesian

Church of England: UK Ignores Iraq’s Christians

I don’t follow British ecclesiastical politics too closely, but the media in the UK is treating this like a big deal. Over the weekend, the Church of England issued a strongly worded condemnation of the government’s policy of neglect toward Iraq’s Christians. The letter, written by Bishop Nicholas Baines and endorsed by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Wellby, makes the same point that commentators in the US, including CLR Forum, have made with respect to American policy: the United States has rushed to help Yazidi refugees, but has done relatively little to alleviate the plight of the much larger number of Christian refugees. According to the Guardian,

Cameron is accused of turning his back on the suffering of Christians. The letter asks why the plight of religious minorities in Iraq, such as the Yazidis, seems to have taken precedence. It notes that, though the government responded promptly to reports of at least 30,000 Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, the fate of tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians fleeing jihadists from Mosul, Iraq’s second city, and elsewhere appears to have “fallen from consciousness”.

Baines asks: “Does your government have a coherent response to the plight of these huge numbers of Christians whose plight appears to be less regarded than that of others? Or are we simply reacting to the loudest media voice at any particular time?” He condemns the failure to offer sanctuary to Iraqi Christians driven from their homes: “The French and German governments have already made provision, but there has so far been only silence from the UK government.”

The Guardian describes the letter as “bitter” and “extraordinary.” If you want to read the letter in its entirety, the Guardian‘s article has a link.

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Trigg, “Religious Diversity”

This past June, Cambridge University Press released “Religious Diversity: Philosophical and Religious Dimensions” by Roger Trigg (University of Oxford).  The publisher’s description follows:

Religious DiversityShould we merely celebrate diversity in the sphere of religion? What of the social cohesion of a country? There is a constant tug between belief in religious truth and the need for respect for other religions. Religious Diversity: Philosophical and Political Dimensions examines how far a firm faith can allow for toleration of difference and respect the need for religious freedom. It elucidates the philosophical credentials of different approaches to truth in religion, ranging from a dogmatic fundamentalism to a pluralism that shades into relativism. Must we resort to a secularism that treats all religion as a personal and private matter, with nothing to contribute to discussions about the common good? How should law approach the issue of religious freedom? Introducing the relevance of central discussions in modern philosophy of religion, the book goes on to examine the political implications of increasing religious diversity in a democracy.

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Conference on International Religious Freedom Photo Gallery

This summer, the Center for Law and Religion co-hosted a conference in Rome, “International Religious Freedom and the Global Clash of Values,” with the St. John’s Center for International and Comparative Law and LUMSA University. We were honored that Pope Francis offered some remarks on religious freedom to kick off the conference. Pictures of various conference-related events can be found below.

Rome Conference 2014
Professor Mark L. Movsesian addresses the class
Class on international religious freedom at St. John’s, Rome campus
Professor Marc O. DeGirolami addresses the class
Audience members at the conference
Rome Conference 2014
Rome Conference 2014
Professors Tom Farr and Marc O. DeGirolami
Rome Conference 2014
U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Dr. Heiner Bielefeldt
Rome Conference 2014
Professor Mark L. Movsesian addresses the conference
Panel on The Politics of International Religious Freedom
U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Ken Hackett
Professor Pasquale Annicchino
Professor Margaret E. McGuinness
Rome Conference 2014
Professor Roberto Zaccaria
Professor Francisca Pérez-Madrid
Rome Conference 2014
Professor Marco Ventura
Professor Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im
Professor Mark L. Movsesian
Rome Conference 2014
Professor Olivier Roy
Panel on Christian and Muslim Perspectives on International Religious Freedom
Nina Shea of the Hudson Institute
Rome Conference 2014
Rector Giuseppe Dalla Torre delivers concluding remarks
Rector Giuseppe Dalla Torre and Dean Michael A. Simons
Rome Conference 2014
Professor Mark L. Movsesian and Pope Francis
In St. Peter’s Square before the papal audience
Awaiting Pope Francis
Dean Michael A. Simons and Pope Francis
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Weisberg, “In Praise of Intransigence”

This past June, Oxford University Press released “In Praise of Intransigence: The Perils of Flexibility” by Richard Weisberg (Cardozo School of Law).  The publisher’s description follows:

In Praise of IntransigenceFlexibility is usually seen as a virtue in today’s world. Even the dictionary seems to dislike those who stick too hard to their own positions. The thesaurus links “intransigence” to a whole host of words signifying a distaste for loyalty to fixed positions: intractable, stubborn, Pharisaic, close-minded, and stiff-necked, to name a few.

In this short and provocative book, constitutional law professor Richard H. Weisberg asks us to reexamine our collective cultural bias toward flexibility, open-mindedness, and compromise. He argues that flexibility has not fared well over the course of history. Indeed, emergencies both real and imagined have led people to betray their soundest traditions.

Weisberg explores the rise of flexibility, which he traces not only to the Enlightenment but further back to early Christian reinterpretation of Jewish sacred texts. He illustrates his argument with historical examples from Vichy France and the occupation of the British Channel Islands during World War II as well as post-9/11 betrayals of sound American traditions against torture, eavesdropping, unlimited detention, and drone killings.

Despite the damage wrought by Western society’s incautious embrace of flexibility over the past two millennia, Weisberg does not make the case for unthinking rigidity. Rather, he argues that a willingness to embrace intransigence allows us to recognize that we have beliefs worth holding on to — without compromise.