Religion is an anchor for billions of men and women, addressing universal questions we all share about the purpose and meaning of life. The world’s faith traditions form pillars of communities and cultures around the world.

Communities also are shaped by the systems we call politics, a term derived from the Greek word, politika meaning affairs of the cities.

Every day, religion and politics exert immense influence on people across the globe. Sometimes these forces converge; sometimes they are in conflict; sometimes these intersections of religion and politics unleash new forces. Leaders around the world today are grappling with questions such as:

  • What new connections between religion and politics are emerging in our world?
  • What new forces are these connections unleashing?
  • Do these connections change the traditional nature of religion and politics?
  • Is it possible to separate religion and politics?
  • What boundaries could be drawn between the two?
  • How can the two forces converge in positive ways?

These are just some of the questions that will be raised as the International Association of Religion Journalists (IARJ) launches a new series of global dialogues, this time on the theme of Religion and Politics.

Our specialty in all of our programs is bringing together journalists from different regions to share their stories and also the challenges they face in reporting them.

The dialogues will be livestreamed from various world regions, including Asia, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, North America, Northern and Central Europe, and Southern Europe and the Mediterranean. The events will be live-streamed and videos will be posted on the IARJ website www.theiarj.org.

Promotional graphic for the IARJ’s “Dialogues on Journalism & Religion, Religion & Politics: A Human Rights Question for the Minorities”

The first one, titled Religion and Politics: A Human Rights Question for the Minorities, will occur on Nov. 12 at 10:30 AM GMT and will include journalists from South/West Asia.

Participants include:

  • Moderator Uday Basu, IARJ Chair and Kolkata-based journalist, commentator on religion and politics.
  • Waqar Gillani – Islamabad-based journalist covering religious persecutions and extremism.
  • Indeewari Amuwatte – Colombo-based Broadcast Journalist covering religion and extremism in Sri Lanka among other beats.
  • Priyadarshini Sen – An independent journalist based in Delhi writing about religion, politics, social justice and culture.
  • Mir Afroz Zaman – Editor, The Politics of Bangladesh, extensively writing on politics and religion.

Please watch our IARJ website for news of other upcoming regional dialogues.

Did you miss the IARJ’s first series of online dialogues on Religion in Times of Pandemic? All events were live-streamed through the IARJ Facebook page, and all resulting videos can still be watched on the IARJ website www.theiarj.organd on the IARJ Facebook page.