Religion and Power: Relations and Challenges
The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Presents a Lecture at USJ in Beirut:
There should be a connection between science and religion in order to guarantee both protection, so people’s religion may face people's tyrant and hence serve other people
The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs delivered a lecture entitled “Religion and Power: Relations and Challenges”, on Wednesday 25 January 2023, at the Humanities Campus at the Saint Joseph University (USJ) in Beirut. This lecture was part of a series of seminars organized by the Department of Religious Sciences at the Faculty of Religious Sciences at USJ, under the title of “The Relation Between Power and Religion”.
Attendees were the Rector of the Faculty of Religious Sciences at USJ Father Salah Abou Jaoudeh, the Director of the Higher Institute of Religious Studies at the University, Sister Yara Matta, the Director of the Department of Religious Sciences at the Faculty Dr. Marguerite Asmar Bou Aoun. As well as, participants were professors and students from the Saint Joseph University and the Lebanese University.
During the lecture, Dr. Abs talked about the religion from a sociological view, discussed the topic of power in general and explained the relationship between religion and power. In this context, he said, "Experiences have shown that religion has a fundamental role in preserving people's lives, dignity and morale, as it connects them with a metaphysical power that they do not see or know, but they are certain that it surrounds and protects them, taking care of them, and expects a lot from them."
He continued, "This spiritual power is much more effective than any other types of influence, as it secures to people moral boost and reinforcement that no earthly power can give them. There should be a connection between science and religion in order to guarantee both protection. So people’s religion may face people's tyrant and hence serve other people, because the sabbath was made for man, but this requires a lot of wisdom, discretion and know-how."
At the end, Dr. Abs highlighted the challenges imposed by the authority’s power on religion and said, "The first challenge lies in separating the state from religion. The second challenge is related to properly learning the concepts of religion and understanding its values and belonging to them. The third challenge is in introducing good governance to religious institutions in order to properly invest the community's resources, such as endowments, institutions, and others.”
He added, "The fourth challenge is to defend freedoms within the framework of human rights. The fifth challenge is to support people financially through production and development projects, and to transform the religious’ situation from a purely spiritual one to a socio-economic situation which deals with people's needs."
