International Discussions on Religious Factor in Global Bioethics

Abstract

The article analyzes the cooperation of UN structures with religious non-governmental organizations, as well as with faith-based communities. The authors consider diff erent levels of the infl uence of the religious factor on the UN activity, and also articulate new directions of its development, outlined during the COVID-19 period. The authors focus on the latent semantic and structural confl ict nature of the global agenda, which is formulated by elites who recognize the “benefi ts” of religious institutions and seek to use the possibilities of religious networks, on the one hand. On the other hand, they point to internal disagreements characteristic of national religious communities, which, as a result of their participation in international dialogue, bring additional tension both to global discussions and to the internal processes of their countries. Global health, which has become an important part of international relations, puts on the agenda the search for a new ethic of global dialogue, of which religious values and religious actors are becoming a part. In the COVID-19 pandemic, trends have emerged that have made the role of religion more visible in the current global health and bioethics agenda. First of all, in connection with the threats of a global pandemic, the need to create new forms of global health management and response to epidemic threats, as well as the organization of a system of “assistance” to developing countries in the fi eld of public health.