Theological Reflections on Religious Resurgence and International Stability: a Look at Protestant Evangelicalism

Abstract

Is religion a menace to international stability, or can it be a tool for the promotion of peace? This is a question raised in the recent volume Religion, The Missing Dimension in Statecraft, edited by Douglas Johnston and Cynthia Sampson.¹ Johnston and Sampson take the focus away from conflictual elements in religion to look at possible positive contributions of religion to international relations. The potential of religion to promote peace is located principally in ‘some version of the Golden Rule’, what we might call the principle of neighbourly love. Johnston avers that some version of this ethical principle exists in all the major world religions.²