Drawing from religion in defining social progress

Drawing from religion in defining social progress

Online meeting hosted by the Friends of Europe and co-organised by the BIC, IPSP and the LSE Faith Centre.
Online meeting hosted by the Friends of Europe and co-organised by the BIC, IPSP and the LSE Faith Centre.
Brussels—19 June 2020

“Whether you see yourself as religious or non-religious, exploring the role religion can play in the advancement of society is a matter of intellectual curiosity,” remarked Mr. Dharmendra Kanani, Director of Insights at the think-tank Friends of Europe during an online event hosted on 19 June in collaboration with the Bahá’í International Community (BIC) Brussels Office, the International Panel on Social Progress (IPSP) and the Faith Centre of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Grace Davie, professor emerita at the University of Exeter and member of the IPSP, initiated the conversation by presenting the findings of Chapter 16 (“Religion and Social Progress: Critical Assessments and Creative Partnerships”) of the recent IPSP report titled Rethinking Society for the 21st Century. Following her remarks, more than 80 participants from diverse backgrounds and institutional affiliations explored the theme in greater depth.

“The question of defining what social progress entails is probably one of the most pressing questions that humanity needs to confront. Without exploring this question at the deepest level, it is difficult to envision the next stage of our collective lives,” noted Rachel Bayani from the BIC, Brussels Office. “It no longer seems sufficient for each community to have its own isolated conception of progress, and then to have these different conceptions exist side by side,” stated Ms. Bayani. “We need a definition of social progress that finds agreement among widening circles of populations and which is jointly shaped by them. Religion plays an essential role in the life of society, and we need to find ways for religious insights to contribute to such a definition.”

Building on these remarks, the question of what social progress entails and who should participate in its definition received due attention. Dr. Benjamin Schewel, a senior fellow at the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University and director of the Center on Modernity in Transition, highlighted that “the statement that religion is not going away and that it can contribute to social progress in meaningful ways is just the beginning point for inquiry. If we say that there is more to reality than just the material world, we would need to generate more knowledge about this spiritual reality. Translating that knowledge into new forms of action would be an essential part of progress.”  

Prof. Samia Huq, from BRAC University in Dhaka and member of the IPSP, expressed that social progress is not a finite concept: “As we go through different stages of development, what the flourishing of community means needs to be determined jointly by both secular and religious approaches. Both need to be in constant conversation with one another to keep the discourse alive and moving.” Echoing Prof. Huq’s remarks, Prof. Nancy Ammerman, professor emerita of the sociology of religion at Boston University and IPSP member, emphasised the need for strategic partnerships. “Within the context of social progress, the key players, whether secular or religious, have to be around the table. Such an approach to progress would eventually challenge people to expand their understanding of what they mean when they say religion,” she commented.