A lecture on the changing global religious landscape and global politics took place at Nanjing Union Theological Seminary in Jiangsu.
According to Nanjing Union Theological Seminary, the special lecture was conducted on May 8 by Dr. Tu Yichao who holds a Juris Doctor from the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University. Currently serving as an associate researcher at the Center for American Studies (CAS) at Fudan University and a master supervisor, Dr. Tu mainly researches around American religion and politics, religion and international relations, and contemporary Christianity, with publications.
Clarifying the changes in the world religious landscape, Dr. Tu introduced the history and current situation of religion and global politics, relationships in geopolitical coordinates between religion and China's national security, religion, and China's united front, as well as its security. Throughout the presentation, Dr. Tu used historical perspectives, charts, and data to illustrate the changes in the global religious landscape. Through studying the historical changes in the relationship between religion and politics, she said she found religious issues had become important issues in international relations, providing examples of the impact of religion on China's national security in geopolitics.
Finally, Dr. Tu concluded that the development and changes in the world's religious landscape were influenced by multiple religions interacting with each other after her research, proposing that the spread of religion and the process of sinicization be worth pondering. She suggested that "people understand and evaluate the positive and negative roles of religion in domestic and international relations and promote the traditional wisdom of harmony and humility in Chinese religion so that Chinese religions and religious groups can become a force for peace and progress in international relations."
- Translated by Abigail Wu
