What Is the Future of Religion in International Affairs ?

The religious third millennium foreseen by Malraux half a century ago seems to be well under way. Certain experts refer to a « return of religion » in the early 2000s, but in reality religion was never completely out of the picture. Religion has demonstrated a real vitality; it takes an apparently chaotic array of forms, often merging with cultural heritage and issues of identity. Religion is also shaped by the contingencies of an era marked by profound paradigm changes.

A prospective approach should avoid the pitfall of turning into political fiction, so in light of the instability and complexity of spiritual realities, I will simply address the essential trends that will shape the global religious landscape over the next fifteen years. Specialists in religious studies agree that profound changes are currently affecting Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, etc. A close analysis of the proximity of the structural analogie between Wahhabism and Evangelism, or the aspirations of Hasidism and Charismatic
Pentecostalism reveals that it is the religions themselves that are transformed, not without creating certain paradoxes. These changes in turn affect the reconfiguration of the global geopolitical map, through « instinctive alliances » between religions, to quote Jean‐François Mayer, director of the Swiss institute Religioscope.