Chris Seiple
Biographic Data
| ID | 4140856 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Chris Seiple |
| GIVEN NAMES | Chris |
| FAMILY NAME | Seiple |
| SIGNATURE | SEIPLE C |
| AFFILIATIONS | Institute for Global Engagement |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 26 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 91 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 25 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1997 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
You Can Count on Cole
In his essay, Chris Seiple shares his personal memories of long-term collaboration with W. Cole Durham, Jr.—one of the founding figures in international law and religion and global religious engagement. Seiple explains that Durham’s non-partisanship, global vision and a value-based approach, as well as the work of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies established by him in 2000, have deeply impacted the field through the support o…
Introduction: Educating for Engagement
This special roundtable of essays for the Spring 2024 issue of The Review of Faith & International Affairs features eight reflections on the concept of cross-cultural religious literacy (CCRL), focusing in particular on potential implications for education across multiple sectors and levels of society, and the state
The Routledge Handbook of Religious Literacy, Pluralism and Global Engagement
Strategic Religious Engagement in International Development: Building a Basic Baseline
This essay introduces a special, open-access issue of this journal focused on the intersection of religion and relief & development. It describes the discussions—of terminology and tangibility, of perspective and practice—that shaped the research done for the “Evidence-Based Summit on Strategic Religious Engagement,” a conference organized and hosted October 5–8, 2020 by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). This special issue cons…
A Case for Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy
Cross-cultural religious literacy is a comprehensive approach to understanding and conducting the kind of engagement that distinguishes robust, covenantal pluralism from merely indifferent “tolerance” of diversity. Such an approach teaches, respectively, the personal and comparative competencies of knowledge about self, and about the other, as well as the collaborative context in which this knowledge is applied. This approach also teaches the ski…
Implementing Strategic Religious Engagement in International Development
Strategic religious engagement in relief & development efforts requires: a careful country assessment, establishing appropriate principles of engagement, and defining priority sectors and institutions (possibly including multireligious platforms equipped to serve as intermediaries). Important factors to take into account include: (a) a risk assessment; (b) review of information sources and gaps; (c) understanding religion-state relationships; (d)…
Religious Engagement in Development: What Impact Does it Have
Religious involvement in humanitarian aid and development takes countless forms, varying by country, traditions, and sector. Research and operational evaluations have expanded in recent years, with some sectors far better documented than others, notably health and peacebuilding. There are, however, substantial gaps in evidence, most significantly regarding local and non-formal involvement. Pandemic preparedness and response are critical issues re…
Intrinsic and Strategic Leverage of Religion in Development
Strategic religious engagement (SRE) is important for five main reasons: (a) the direct and significant contributions of religious actors to humanitarian assistance and development, not least their high levels of trust and access, and their distinctive contributions to spiritual care; (b) The local presence and knowledge of faith-based organizations (FBOs) and religious communities that are critical to self-reliance; (c) the significant if often …
Toward a Global Covenant of Peaceable Neighborhood: Introducing the Philosophy of Covenantal Pluralism
The global challenge of living together peacefully and constructively in the context of deep religious/worldview differences will not be met through bumper-sticker slogans about “tolerance.” This essay provides an introductory overview of a richer approach called covenantal pluralism, which has been developed over the last few years at the Templeton Religion Trust. The philosophy of covenantal pluralism is a robust, relational, and non-relativist…
Religion and Responsible American Engagement of the Middle East
From Paradox to Possibility: Practicing the Golden Rule in a Global World
Our century so far suffers from the “Golden Paradox.” Precisely when the world needs the “Golden Rule” the most, it is less available. Every major faith tradition has a “Golden Rule,” yet social an
International Good Faith: An Introduction to the 10thanniversary Issue
Even though Franklin D. Roosevelt stressed the essential connection between religious freedom, democracy, and reason in international relations, most foreign affairs elites ignored this connection for the rest of the 20-super-th century. A foreign affairs field bereft of a deep understanding of religion and of an integral religious freedom vision would inevitably leave America less able to understand and respond to global challenges. Acutely awar…
Religious Freedom and Global Security
The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Security
1. Introduction, Chris Seiple, Dennis R. Hoover, and Pauletta Otis Section I: World Religions and Security 2. Dichotomous Jewish Understandings of Security: Historical Origins and Contemporary Expressions, Stuart A. Cohen 3. Eastern Orthodoxy and the Fusion of National and Spiritual Security, Christopher Marsh 4. Catholic Approaches to Security and Peace, Gerard F. Powers 5. Always Reforming: Protestantism and International Security, Robert Joust…
The Essence of Exceptionalism: Roger Williams and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America
The brand of American exceptionalism invoked today tends to ignore the importance of religious freedom. Though political rhetoric often heralds the Massachusetts Puritans as the founders of American exceptionalism, Roger Williams’ colony of Rhode Island best exemplified exceptionalism's essence: “liberty of conscience” for every citizen, given of God, protected and promoted by the state. As a colonial outcast who befriended Native Americans and f…
Building Religious Freedom: A Theory of Change
There is no issue or incident that is only about religious freedom. Especially in restrictive environments, it is imperative to understand religious freedom in the context of: global trends; the geo-politics of the region; the national narrative; ethnic majority-minority relations; economic and educational development policies (especially for ethno- and/or religious minorities); and how the culture and majority religion historically and currently…
Converting the Foreign Policy Elite
A review of Engaging Religious Communities Abroad: A New Imperative for US Foreign Policy, by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ Task Force on Religion and the Making of US Foreign Policy
Ready…or Not: Equipping the U.S. Military Chaplain for Inter-Religious Liaison
Most U.S. commanders are not conceptually or practically equipped—that is, educated and trained—to engage religious issues, and there is no group within the militarybetter positioned than the chaplains to serve as inter-religious liaisons and advisers. But chaplains themselves are not yet fully equipped to perform these roles either. A number of recommendations, if implemented, would better educate and train chaplains for today's challenges. Thes…
World of Faith and Freedom: Why International Religious Freedom Is Vital to American National Security
Farr's 2008 book World of Faith and Freedom makes three basic points. First, religious freedom is still shackled in the paradigmatic prison of international relations and the bureaucratic culture at the U.S. Department of State, unwanted and un-integrated into international relations theory and U.S. foreign policy. Second, properly understood, the promotion of religious freedom should be an integral part of national security that could “create th…
Seizing the Middle East Moment
The next president must implement a comprehensive Middle East policy addressing three geo-political realities: the possibility of a nuclear Iran, the two-state plan for peace in Israel-Palestine, and stability in Iraq. This policy must sensitively be presented to the region's Muslim-majority societies and honor the Muslim worldview. In addition, the next president should encourage and expand the role of the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Internatio…
Memo to the State: Religion and Security
By oppressing religious minorities, governments end up destabilizing the state. However, when a government facilitates the positive social contributions of faith, the negative side-effects of repressed religion can be avoided. Governments can contribute to the stability of the state by ensuring that each faith has access to proper education in the principles of its own community, inculcating the best of each faith in its members. When a faith gro…
Why I Signed the Open Letter
Evangelicals who frequently travel throughout the Muslim and Communist worlds areconfronted with negative perceptions of American Christians. Pro-Palestinian Christians living in the Middle East often view American Evangelicals as Israeli supporters. Whether this perception is true or not, the people of the world can more easily change their opinions with a tangible counterexample. Many American Christians believethat God calls each person to lov…
America's Greatest Story
A review of: Jon Meacham, American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation (New York: Random House, 2006). 416 pp. $23.95. Although the founding fathers deliberately created space for religious freedom by referring to a genericGod, the opinion that America is a ‘Christian nation’ has become widespread, especially among conservative Christians. Meacham's conclusion that Americans only need to ‘tell [their] own story’ is too s…
Uzbekistan: Civil Society in the Heartland
Homeland Security Concepts and Strategy
Toward a Global Covenant of Peaceable Neighborhood: Introducing the Philosophy of Covenantal Pluralism
The global challenge of living together peacefully and constructively in the context of deep religious/worldview differences will not be met through bumper-sticker slogans about “tolerance.” This essay provides an introductory overview of a richer approach called covenantal pluralism, which has been developed over the last few years at the Templeton Religion Trust. The philosophy of covenantal pluralism is a robust, relational, and non-relativist…
A Case for Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy
Cross-cultural religious literacy is a comprehensive approach to understanding and conducting the kind of engagement that distinguishes robust, covenantal pluralism from merely indifferent “tolerance” of diversity. Such an approach teaches, respectively, the personal and comparative competencies of knowledge about self, and about the other, as well as the collaborative context in which this knowledge is applied. This approach also teaches the ski…
The Essence of Exceptionalism: Roger Williams and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America
The brand of American exceptionalism invoked today tends to ignore the importance of religious freedom. Though political rhetoric often heralds the Massachusetts Puritans as the founders of American exceptionalism, Roger Williams’ colony of Rhode Island best exemplified exceptionalism's essence: “liberty of conscience” for every citizen, given of God, protected and promoted by the state. As a colonial outcast who befriended Native Americans and f…
Strategic Religious Engagement in International Development: Building a Basic Baseline
This essay introduces a special, open-access issue of this journal focused on the intersection of religion and relief & development. It describes the discussions—of terminology and tangibility, of perspective and practice—that shaped the research done for the “Evidence-Based Summit on Strategic Religious Engagement,” a conference organized and hosted October 5–8, 2020 by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). This special issue cons…
Religious Engagement in Development: What Impact Does it Have
Religious involvement in humanitarian aid and development takes countless forms, varying by country, traditions, and sector. Research and operational evaluations have expanded in recent years, with some sectors far better documented than others, notably health and peacebuilding. There are, however, substantial gaps in evidence, most significantly regarding local and non-formal involvement. Pandemic preparedness and response are critical issues re…
Uzbekistan: Civil Society in the Heartland
Intrinsic and Strategic Leverage of Religion in Development
Strategic religious engagement (SRE) is important for five main reasons: (a) the direct and significant contributions of religious actors to humanitarian assistance and development, not least their high levels of trust and access, and their distinctive contributions to spiritual care; (b) The local presence and knowledge of faith-based organizations (FBOs) and religious communities that are critical to self-reliance; (c) the significant if often …
From Paradox to Possibility: Practicing the Golden Rule in a Global World
Our century so far suffers from the “Golden Paradox.” Precisely when the world needs the “Golden Rule” the most, it is less available. Every major faith tradition has a “Golden Rule,” yet social an
Building Religious Freedom: A Theory of Change
There is no issue or incident that is only about religious freedom. Especially in restrictive environments, it is imperative to understand religious freedom in the context of: global trends; the geo-politics of the region; the national narrative; ethnic majority-minority relations; economic and educational development policies (especially for ethno- and/or religious minorities); and how the culture and majority religion historically and currently…
Memo to the State: Religion and Security
By oppressing religious minorities, governments end up destabilizing the state. However, when a government facilitates the positive social contributions of faith, the negative side-effects of repressed religion can be avoided. Governments can contribute to the stability of the state by ensuring that each faith has access to proper education in the principles of its own community, inculcating the best of each faith in its members. When a faith gro…
Homeland Security Concepts and Strategy
Implementing Strategic Religious Engagement in International Development
Strategic religious engagement in relief & development efforts requires: a careful country assessment, establishing appropriate principles of engagement, and defining priority sectors and institutions (possibly including multireligious platforms equipped to serve as intermediaries). Important factors to take into account include: (a) a risk assessment; (b) review of information sources and gaps; (c) understanding religion-state relationships; (d)…
International Good Faith: An Introduction to the 10thanniversary Issue
Even though Franklin D. Roosevelt stressed the essential connection between religious freedom, democracy, and reason in international relations, most foreign affairs elites ignored this connection for the rest of the 20-super-th century. A foreign affairs field bereft of a deep understanding of religion and of an integral religious freedom vision would inevitably leave America less able to understand and respond to global challenges. Acutely awar…
Converting the Foreign Policy Elite
A review of Engaging Religious Communities Abroad: A New Imperative for US Foreign Policy, by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ Task Force on Religion and the Making of US Foreign Policy
Seizing the Middle East Moment
The next president must implement a comprehensive Middle East policy addressing three geo-political realities: the possibility of a nuclear Iran, the two-state plan for peace in Israel-Palestine, and stability in Iraq. This policy must sensitively be presented to the region's Muslim-majority societies and honor the Muslim worldview. In addition, the next president should encourage and expand the role of the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Internatio…
Consequence Management: Domestic Response to Weapons of Mass Destruction
Homeland Security Concepts and Strategy
Uzbekistan: Civil Society in the Heartland
America's Greatest Story
A review of: Jon Meacham, American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation (New York: Random House, 2006). 416 pp. $23.95. Although the founding fathers deliberately created space for religious freedom by referring to a genericGod, the opinion that America is a ‘Christian nation’ has become widespread, especially among conservative Christians. Meacham's conclusion that Americans only need to ‘tell [their] own story’ is too s…
Memo to the State: Religion and Security
By oppressing religious minorities, governments end up destabilizing the state. However, when a government facilitates the positive social contributions of faith, the negative side-effects of repressed religion can be avoided. Governments can contribute to the stability of the state by ensuring that each faith has access to proper education in the principles of its own community, inculcating the best of each faith in its members. When a faith gro…
Why I Signed the Open Letter
Evangelicals who frequently travel throughout the Muslim and Communist worlds areconfronted with negative perceptions of American Christians. Pro-Palestinian Christians living in the Middle East often view American Evangelicals as Israeli supporters. Whether this perception is true or not, the people of the world can more easily change their opinions with a tangible counterexample. Many American Christians believethat God calls each person to lov…
Seizing the Middle East Moment
The next president must implement a comprehensive Middle East policy addressing three geo-political realities: the possibility of a nuclear Iran, the two-state plan for peace in Israel-Palestine, and stability in Iraq. This policy must sensitively be presented to the region's Muslim-majority societies and honor the Muslim worldview. In addition, the next president should encourage and expand the role of the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Internatio…
Ready…or Not: Equipping the U.S. Military Chaplain for Inter-Religious Liaison
Most U.S. commanders are not conceptually or practically equipped—that is, educated and trained—to engage religious issues, and there is no group within the militarybetter positioned than the chaplains to serve as inter-religious liaisons and advisers. But chaplains themselves are not yet fully equipped to perform these roles either. A number of recommendations, if implemented, would better educate and train chaplains for today's challenges. Thes…
World of Faith and Freedom: Why International Religious Freedom Is Vital to American National Security
Farr's 2008 book World of Faith and Freedom makes three basic points. First, religious freedom is still shackled in the paradigmatic prison of international relations and the bureaucratic culture at the U.S. Department of State, unwanted and un-integrated into international relations theory and U.S. foreign policy. Second, properly understood, the promotion of religious freedom should be an integral part of national security that could “create th…
Converting the Foreign Policy Elite
A review of Engaging Religious Communities Abroad: A New Imperative for US Foreign Policy, by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ Task Force on Religion and the Making of US Foreign Policy
Religious Freedom and Global Security
The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Security
1. Introduction, Chris Seiple, Dennis R. Hoover, and Pauletta Otis Section I: World Religions and Security 2. Dichotomous Jewish Understandings of Security: Historical Origins and Contemporary Expressions, Stuart A. Cohen 3. Eastern Orthodoxy and the Fusion of National and Spiritual Security, Christopher Marsh 4. Catholic Approaches to Security and Peace, Gerard F. Powers 5. Always Reforming: Protestantism and International Security, Robert Joust…
The Essence of Exceptionalism: Roger Williams and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America
The brand of American exceptionalism invoked today tends to ignore the importance of religious freedom. Though political rhetoric often heralds the Massachusetts Puritans as the founders of American exceptionalism, Roger Williams’ colony of Rhode Island best exemplified exceptionalism's essence: “liberty of conscience” for every citizen, given of God, protected and promoted by the state. As a colonial outcast who befriended Native Americans and f…
Building Religious Freedom: A Theory of Change
There is no issue or incident that is only about religious freedom. Especially in restrictive environments, it is imperative to understand religious freedom in the context of: global trends; the geo-politics of the region; the national narrative; ethnic majority-minority relations; economic and educational development policies (especially for ethno- and/or religious minorities); and how the culture and majority religion historically and currently…
International Good Faith: An Introduction to the 10thanniversary Issue
Even though Franklin D. Roosevelt stressed the essential connection between religious freedom, democracy, and reason in international relations, most foreign affairs elites ignored this connection for the rest of the 20-super-th century. A foreign affairs field bereft of a deep understanding of religion and of an integral religious freedom vision would inevitably leave America less able to understand and respond to global challenges. Acutely awar…
From Paradox to Possibility: Practicing the Golden Rule in a Global World
Our century so far suffers from the “Golden Paradox.” Precisely when the world needs the “Golden Rule” the most, it is less available. Every major faith tradition has a “Golden Rule,” yet social an
Religion and Responsible American Engagement of the Middle East
Toward a Global Covenant of Peaceable Neighborhood: Introducing the Philosophy of Covenantal Pluralism
The global challenge of living together peacefully and constructively in the context of deep religious/worldview differences will not be met through bumper-sticker slogans about “tolerance.” This essay provides an introductory overview of a richer approach called covenantal pluralism, which has been developed over the last few years at the Templeton Religion Trust. The philosophy of covenantal pluralism is a robust, relational, and non-relativist…
The Routledge Handbook of Religious Literacy, Pluralism and Global Engagement
Strategic Religious Engagement in International Development: Building a Basic Baseline
This essay introduces a special, open-access issue of this journal focused on the intersection of religion and relief & development. It describes the discussions—of terminology and tangibility, of perspective and practice—that shaped the research done for the “Evidence-Based Summit on Strategic Religious Engagement,” a conference organized and hosted October 5–8, 2020 by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). This special issue cons…
A Case for Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy
Cross-cultural religious literacy is a comprehensive approach to understanding and conducting the kind of engagement that distinguishes robust, covenantal pluralism from merely indifferent “tolerance” of diversity. Such an approach teaches, respectively, the personal and comparative competencies of knowledge about self, and about the other, as well as the collaborative context in which this knowledge is applied. This approach also teaches the ski…
Implementing Strategic Religious Engagement in International Development
Strategic religious engagement in relief & development efforts requires: a careful country assessment, establishing appropriate principles of engagement, and defining priority sectors and institutions (possibly including multireligious platforms equipped to serve as intermediaries). Important factors to take into account include: (a) a risk assessment; (b) review of information sources and gaps; (c) understanding religion-state relationships; (d)…
Religious Engagement in Development: What Impact Does it Have
Religious involvement in humanitarian aid and development takes countless forms, varying by country, traditions, and sector. Research and operational evaluations have expanded in recent years, with some sectors far better documented than others, notably health and peacebuilding. There are, however, substantial gaps in evidence, most significantly regarding local and non-formal involvement. Pandemic preparedness and response are critical issues re…
Intrinsic and Strategic Leverage of Religion in Development
Strategic religious engagement (SRE) is important for five main reasons: (a) the direct and significant contributions of religious actors to humanitarian assistance and development, not least their high levels of trust and access, and their distinctive contributions to spiritual care; (b) The local presence and knowledge of faith-based organizations (FBOs) and religious communities that are critical to self-reliance; (c) the significant if often …
Introduction: Educating for Engagement
This special roundtable of essays for the Spring 2024 issue of The Review of Faith & International Affairs features eight reflections on the concept of cross-cultural religious literacy (CCRL), focusing in particular on potential implications for education across multiple sectors and levels of society, and the state
Political science (20 works) · Sociology (18 works) · Law (17 works) · Politics (14 works) · Religion, Society, and Development (14 works) · Philosophy (8 works) · Religion and Society Interactions (8 works) · Epistemology (7 works) · American Constitutional Law and Politics (6 works) · Public Administration (6 works)