Bioethics, Multiculturalism and Religion
The mission of the Bioethics, Multiculturalism & Religion Project is to provide a forum in which representatives of diverse religions and traditions can:
- engage one another in a sustained scholarly dialogue about global bioethics;
- cultivate an amicable atmosphere so participants can learn about each other’s tradition or religion with discursive empathy;
- promote mutual understanding of global bioethics through respectful discussion and scholarship;
- strive to develop the linguistic and conceptual space in which common ground or convergence can emerge and be mutually recognized and appreciated; and finally
- foster creative cooperation while respecting the dignity and uniqueness of each tradition.
Nine international conferences and workshops on “Bioethics, Multiculturalism and Religion” have been held in Jerusalem (2009), Rome (2011), Hong Kong (2013), Mexico City (2014), Houston (2016), Rome (2018), and Casablanca (2019), Bangkok (2022), and Rome /Assisi (2023). The 10th international workshop will take place in Madrid on December 17-19, 2024.
These academic conferences sought to foster the art of convergence and cooperation in global ethics among experts in bioethics coming from the world religions including Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism as well as the secular perspective.
Hosted by the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights, established in two Roman universities, the Università Europea di Roma and Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum, the conferences are a first step in creating a permanent academic forum to promote dialogue and bioethical reflection in the light of human rights and duties addressed from different religious and cultural perspectives in the worlds actively-advancing medical, legal and technological environment. Ours is the world’s foremost multicultural and interreligious academic bioethics conference and provides important benefits for the experts and institutions in the field of bioethics. It provides a media platform promoting recognition and visibility of the academic and scientific commitment in the field of life sciences and medicine. It highlights their capacity for dialogue and understanding in our challenging globalized and diverse world.
International Conferences
Various academic publications have resulted from these encounters, including:
- Religious Perspectives on Human Vulnerability in Bioethics
- Religious Perspectives on Bioethics and Human Rights
- Religious Perspectives on Social Responsibility in Health
- Interreligious Perspectives on Mind, Genes and the Self
- Cross-Cultural and Religious Critiques of Informed Consent
- Multicultural and Interreligious Perspectives on the Ethics of Human Reproduction