I had already told the Archbishop of Canterbury's office that I didn't feel competent to speak on his motion, to be debated in the House of Lords on October 15, when he will call attention to the role of religions in the promotion of international order and the avoidance of international disorder , and the discussion this evening could get me into even deeper water. On the other hand, if we have time for discussion, I may pick up some ideas from you that would enable me to contribute to the debate in the House after all. If so, I might be tempted to say that approaching the subject from an almost exclusively Christian viewpoint, as the House of Lords is bound to do because of its composition, is not helpful. If the religions do indeed have a part to play, they would have to develop mechanisms for coordinating their approaches and resolving differences, and as far as I know, these are not yet well developed. Perhaps Interfaith International can do something about that.
Religion is a tremendous force in human society, for both good and evil.
It tolerated and sanctioned slavery for centuries, then helped to abolish it. The Catholics encouraged anti-semitism in Imperial Germany, and some historians now label Pope Pius XII as an active Nazi collaborator during the Holocaust. The Churches failed to speak out boldly against racial segregation in America, though now they try to make amends by promoting integration. The Churches have resisted women's ordination kicking and screaming, yet they advocate equal rights for women. All religions have produced compassionate individuals whose faith led them to provide for the poor, the sick, the hurting, and the broken.