TORONTO (CCN) — On Remembrance Day, Canadian Jesuit priest and diplomatic historian John Meehan spoke about the role of religion in international affairs, providing an overview of the evolution of scholarship on the subject and his insights on its contemporary role in geopolitics.
In what he described as “typical Jesuit fashion,” he organized his talk in three points. First, he reviewed the history of religion and politics in the modern era. Then, he focused on the post-Cold War period. He concluded with how religion can bring a positive contribution to international relations in four areas: peacebuilding, climate change, immigration and artificial intelligence.
His presentation was followed by a Q&A session, ranging from whether his view of religion is too optimistic or “romantic” and why “religious terrorism” is often applied to violence perpetrated by some religions but not Christianity, in particular reference to historic acts of violence perpetrated by Christians.
“And you can tell by some of the questions, a lot of people don’t view religion as a positive force at all,” Fr. Meehan said. “So that’s the room tonight. So I think: How do you talk about this issue sensibly to an audience like that?
“In my answers, I try to separate people who abuse religion or people (who) use it for other considerations of power and how religion has really intended to free people, to make us more loving, more compassionate, more human.”
Although his presentation spoke broadly on religion, drawing mainly from his study of the Abrahamic religions, Fr. Meehan referred to several Christian and Catholic examples to illustrate his points. He cited papal encyclicals, including Pope Francis’ “Laudato Si” and Pope Leo’s “Magnifica Humanitas,” encouraging Catholics to recognize the richness of Catholic social teaching and its human appeal, regardless of personal belief.
“Our social teaching is a great treasure we have,” Fr. Meehan told Canadian Catholic News after his presentation. “And (you should) not be ashamed or shy of sharing it with others because you don’t know how it may affect them. It may actually give them guidance in how they live their lives, whether they are Catholic or not.”
The event was hosted by the International Issues Discussion, “a strictly non-partisan, unaffiliated, and apolitical group that welcomes all students to get involved and further their understanding of the world today,” according to its website.
The student-led series organizes a shared space for learning about “major events and issues in contemporary global affairs through reasoned, objective, and scholarly discourse.”
The initiative is an ongoing collaboration between the University of Toronto and the host university, Toronto Metropolitan University. It was founded in 2005 by two then-Ryerson students, Dale Carl, the late business and marketing professor at the Ted Rogers School, and Arne Kislenko, who is a history professor and the series’ faculty adviser.
Fr. Meehan spoke at the George Vari Engineering & Computing Centre at Toronto Metropolitan University. An estimated 60 people attended.
Religion is often dismissed as an irrelevant factor in international affairs, but recent headlines — from Pope Leo’s remarks about how faith cannot justify war to the commentary about the “religious left” elected into office following the U.S. midterm elections — demonstrate that religion is often intertwined with politics worldwide.
“I don’t know how God is going to use this event to touch hearts,” Fr. Meehan said, “but I hope that some people have left thinking about how maybe there’s a positive side to religion that they hadn’t thought of before.”
Fr. Meehan holds an master’s in international relations from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and a PhD in history from the University of Toronto. He served as president of Campion College in Regina and the University of Sudbury.
He has taught and published on Canadian foreign relations and relationships with Indigenous peoples. He is currently a senior fellow at Massey College and special adviser to the president of the University of St. Michael’s College on dialogue and reconciliation.
