Religion and Public Life Begins Religion and Democratic Ideals Series with Conversation on Political Futures
The Religion and Public Life program at Harvard Divinity School hosted a webinar on Political Futures this past Tuesday evening.
The Zoom webinar was the first in a four-part webinar series titled, "Religion and Democratic Ideals.” The series focuses on the exploration of democratic ideals and the pursuit of just peace by engaging in thoughtful discussions along four different avenues. Each of these avenues offers insights into the relationship between religion, democracy, and just peace. The discussion was moderated by Assistant Dean for Religion and Public Life, Hussein Rashid, as he was joined by RPL Organizing Fellow, Joshua Wolfsun, and RPL Arts and Popular Culture Fellow, Angélique Roché.
Thinking about our current political reality and what it might look like a few decades from now, Wolfsun and Roché shared their imaginations of that future. During the discussion, Roché explained the necessity of considering everyone’s stake in a political future, providing a focused lens for the conversation in light of consistent political developments.
“As we’re contemplating how to bring more people to the table and have their imaginations dream up a future where everyone has a place, we also have to really hone down on what do basic needs look like? What does basic protection look like as the world around us is changing?”
Roché painted a vision of a political future entails a society where “everyone sees the value of their story.” She elaborated that when the community breaks free of individualized bubbles and everyone’s story is valued as a collective, the agency of all voices is prioritized. The value of each story underscores the importance of making political decisions that reflect and include the interests of the entire community.
Building on Roché’s point, Wolfsun acknowledged the role of everyone building the political future together, but also noted the risk of having strict long-term goals:
“The question always comes up ‘what’s the destination in 50 years?’ Recognizing that the political futures are going to be co-created, that they’re going to be co-constituted, we can start looking around and thinking directionally rather than about end-point destinations.”
Wolfsun explained that, while there’s nothing wrong with having goals, a directional approach allows one to work toward a vision rather than backward from concrete end points. This makes space for us to address the complex, contradictory, and ever evolving nature of the world, which makes the realization of strict, concrete futures improbable. Using this outlook, Wolfsun encouraged the audience to think about what currently matters to us and build forward from there.
“Sit down, pull out a piece of paper, and pull out a pen. Write down names of five people who you want to work with and help make change with. Identify what you want to work on, and where you already have the opportunity and power to help you do that thing. Then call them. Magic will happen.”