Client Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark | 2019
Sustainia created a feasibility study on interreligious dialogues cooperating on the Sustainable Development Goals for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. The report mapped existing interreligious dialogues working together on sustainability challenges, and assessed how the interreligious dialogues might contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The challenge
In times of urgent need for solutions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, all actors in society must be engaged. That includes religious communities, which can engage people in the sustainability agenda in other ways than states, NGOs, and art and culture. With more than 75% of global citizens affiliated with a religion there might be a huge potential for igniting religious followers’ interest in solving local and global challenges. But how can it be unlocked? The answer might be interreligious dialogue.
The solution
A first step is to assess the potential for religions cooperating on sustainability issues. Sustainia’s research mapped existing interreligious dialogues cooperating on issues related to the Sustainable Development Goals. Not only does it seem like the interreligious engagement holds a convincing potential for solving urgent sustainability issues, but that coming together can also strengthen the dialogue itself.
