The Golden Rule: Interfaith Peacemaking and the Charter for Compassion

Abstract

The Charter for Compassion has been signed by over two million people from around the world and partnered with hundreds of interfaith organizations and cities seeking to put into practice the Golden Rule, common to the main faith traditions, of doing unto others as you would be done by. This article sets the Charter within the context of a post secular international society and faith-based diplomacy, in which religious interreligious initiatives emerge as serious, rather than peripheral, actors in developing sustainable peace making through bottom-up approaches. The article critically engages with the Charter's claim that ‘any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate’ while accepting that peaceful interpretations of scriptures are helpful to peace processes where religious actors are involved. The article explores the claims of the Charter for Compassion International as they seek to make peace through compassion, before concluding that the Charter for Compassion is a long-term project aimed at changing hearts and minds but has had limited substantive impact to date.

Keywords:

• Charter for Compassion
• Religion
• Peacemaking
• Faith-based Diplomacy

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lee Marsden

Lee Marsden is Professor of Faith and Global Politics at the University of East Anglia. He is the series editor for Routledge on Religion and International Security and has written widely on religion and international relations. His most recent book is Religion and International Security (Polity Press, 2018).