'God gap' impedes U.S. foreign policy, task force says

Fascinating and important statement by a task force of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs headed by R. Scott Appleby of the University of Notre Dame and Richard Cizik of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good.

According to The Washington Post, the task force said:

American foreign policy is handicapped by a narrow, ill-informed and "uncompromising Western secularism" that feeds religious extremism, threatens traditional cultures and fails to encourage religious groups that promote peace and human rights."

Chris Seiple, president of the Institute for Global Engagement in Arlington County and a Council on Foreign Relations member, said:

"It's the elephant in the room. You're taught not to talk about religion and politics, but the bummer is that it's at the nexus of national security. The truth is the academy has been run by secular fundamentalists for a long time, people who believe religion is not a legitimate component of realpolitik."