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Contact: World Council of Churches, +41-22-791-6153, +41-79-507-6363, media@wcc-coe.org
MEDIA ADVISORY, Oct. 9 /Standard Newswire/ -- The rapidly changing relationship between religion and state and the challenge of multiple identities were the foci of a lively dialogue between ten Chinese and nine European scholars and religious leaders representing Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and traditional Chinese religions held in Sweden, 3-6 October.
The dynamics of registered religious institutions and the growth of house-churches in China, the recent separation of the church and state in Sweden, the way in which Chinese youth seek multiple religious identities, and the challenges of changing demographics in Europe were explored in open discussions and free exchanges of ideas and experience.
Case studies from a Chinese village and a Swedish suburb, as well as papers on religious publishing in China explored the role of the church in civil society.
Rev. Dr Shanta Premawardhana, director of the World Council of Churches (WCC) programme on Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation spoke to an affirmation from the WCC Assembly in Porto Alegre 2006 that the 20th century's "politics of ideology" was giving way in the current century to "the politics of identity".
"There is a growing trend towards expressing identities in mutually exclusive categories and the linking of religious and ethnic identities. Such hardening of identities is emerging as a serious challenge in the 21st century. Skills developed and sharpened through interreligious dialogue can help to effectively address these challenges," he said.
The workshop on "Religion and Society: the challenge of multiple identities" took place at the Sigtuna Foundation near Stockholm and was sponsored by the China-Europa Forum Foundation and by the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation for Human Progress It was chaired by Dr Fredrik Fällman of Stockholm University and the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, which supported the event.
WCC programme on Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation:
www.oikoumene.org/en/programmes/interreligiousdialogue.html
China-Europa Forum Foundation:
www.china-europa-forum.net
Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation for Human Progress:
www.fph.ch
Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
