Description
International crises, structural political challenges, and unaddressed divisions create risks for multicultural and infra-secular societies in terms of polarisation along ethnic, political and religious dimensions. In an increasingly multi-polar world, of competing economic positions and political approaches, the impact of international crises has become increasingly nuanced for local multi-cultural and infra-secular communities within sovereign states. The most recent case of the Gaza/Israel conflict suggests that ‘Infra-secularity’ is a more accurate description than post-secularism to analyse globalised worldwide society, with reference to safe and more inclusive UK communities. The escalating and continuing conflict has increased tensions within the UK’s diverse ethnic and faith communities. There is a critical need to engage in dialogue across and within communities between diverse community stakeholders to build collaborative community spiritual capacity to restore trust, support community cohesion and wellbeing. This research asks the question: How might international crises impact the possibilities for safe and inclusive domestic national communities? Further, we explore how and whether inter-faith dialogue can promote cohesion rather than polarisation? Drawing insights from our collective experiences of facilitating and contributing to inter-faith dialogue, and interviewing with faith leaders and attendees from student and staff in Higher Education and wider communities, we reflect on the emotional weight and complexity of dialogue, together with the wider societal politics that shapes the spaces in which dialogue unfolds, and the implications of inter-faith dialogue for scholars of international studies and the communities they work with and belong to.
