Religion and Public Diplomacy

Brie Loskota, University of Southern California, USARichard Flory, University of Southern California, USADaniel Hall, University of Southern California, USALan T. Chu, Occidental College, USAJuyan Zhang, University of Texas at San Antonio, USANajeeba Syeed-Miller, Claremont School of Theology, USAMohammed El-Nawawy, Queens University of Charlotte, USAJohannes Matysaay, Switzerland's ambassador to the Republic of Argentina Seraina Flury, Official at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of SwitzerlandDiane Winston, University of Southern California, USALiora Danan, International Center for Religion and DiplomacyThomas Farr, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, USA

"This volume is a significant addition to a meager corpus: scholarly works on the importance of religion to public diplomacy. As Professor Seib notes, religion is - somewhat incredibly - still too often seen as tangential to the work of diplomacy. This group of essays will help change that dynamic." - Thomas F. Farr, Director, The Religious Freedom Project, Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs

• Introduction; Philip Seib 1. Why Religion Matters in the World; Brie Loskota and Richard Flory 2. Pope John Paul II, Radio Free Europe, and Faith Diplomacy; Daniel Hall 3. Vatican Diplomacy in Vietnam and China; Lan Chu 4. China's Faith Diplomacy; Juyan Zhang 5. Public Diplomacy and Transnational Blasphemy Controversies; Najeeba Syeed-Miller 6. Muslims' Online Faith Diplomacy; Mohammed el-Nawawy 7. The Minaret Referendum and Switzerland's Proactive Public Diplomacy; Ambassador Johannes Matyassy and Seraina Flury 8. Capturing the World's Attention: Buddhist Media Diplomacy in Myanmar; Diane Winston 9. Shaping the Narrative of Religious Freedom; Liora Danan Conclusion; Philip Seib