Bush, Obama and a faith-based US foreign policy

Abstract

Bush, Obama and a faith-based US foreign policy LEE MARSDEN US foreign policy in the first decade of the twenty-first century has been dominated by religion in a way that would not have seemed possible for most of the second half of the twentieth. Al-Qaeda's attack on the United States in September 2001, the subsequent US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the upsurge in Islamist militancy and the populist overthrow of despotic US allies in the Middle East all focus attention on the importance of religious actors. For much of this period academic interest has centred on radical Islam and the attempts by western governments, and the United States in particular, to contain Islamism through embarking on the global 'war on terror' in its various manifestations, and supporting pro-western despots in the Middle East. While there has also been much interest in the emergence of elements of the Christian right as foreign policy actors, 1 until recently insufficient attention has been paid to the increasing role played by religious organizations in the delivery of US foreign policy objectives. American faith-based International Relations (IR) scholars and political scientists have successfully agitated for an increased religious dimension to foreign policy, in particular in the areas of diplomacy and overseas assistance and development.2 While such an emphasis is designed to further US foreign policy interests, this article argues that such a policy can be counterproductive where these religious actors pursue sectarian rather than secular objectives. Using faith-based initiatives supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as a case-study, the article highlights the potential dangers of faith-based foreign policy approaches.

Action Not Words: Obama’s Opportunity to Transform U.S.-Muslim Relations

“…For instance, Samaritan's Purse, a Conservative Christian group that received government funding, operated in predominantly Muslim countries including Iraq. During their operations, Samaritan's Purse not only distributed U.S. government aid but also engaged in proselytizing (Marsden 2012). Naturally, such activities counter the assertion that the United States does not threaten Muslims or Islam, and instead gives the impression that the U.S. government is openly promoting the spread of Christianity in predominantly Muslim countries.…”

“…As the Obama administration was promoting interfaith dialogue and claiming that the U.S. was not engaged in war with Muslims (Obama 2015), the federal government increased its utilization of Christian groups to implement its soft policy (Marsden 2012). For instance, Samaritan's Purse, a Conservative Christian group that received government funding, operated in predominantly Muslim countries including Iraq.…”

“…Second, a Special Representative to Muslim Communities was also established to improve interfaith dialogue and cooperation. Finally, the State Department was instructed to develop and implement religious educational training for all members of the Foreign Service (Marsden 2012). Although these mechanisms increase understanding and respect of other cultures, they were counterbalanced by other manners in which faith was incorporated into U.S. foreign policy.…”

Geopolitics of Religion: How Does Religion Influence International Relations and States’ Foreign Policies?

“…During Barack Obama"s administration, American officials set up the Faith-Based Policy. The Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (CFBCI) stayed a solidification in the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and President Obama showed his enthusiastic will for the initiative as the previous President did (Marsden, 2012). For disseminating a global American vision to the whole world politics, Faith-Based International Relations in coordination with political scholars tried to build on these initiatives and both called for the significant role of faith (religion) which plays in the foreign policy of the United States (Marsden, 2012).…”

Positioning Missionaries in Development Studies, Policy, and Practice

“…The instrumental approach may also cause religious organizations to arbitrarily separate their religious identity from religious practice in a way that makes them appear schizophrenic (Hovland, 2008). Because of its narrow focus on development activities, the functional approach supports limited development objectives without engaging with the ideological dimension of either Christian missionaries or secular donors (often representing governments with partisan platformssee Marsden, 2012).…”