Charles Hill Presents Vance Lecture on Role of Religion in International Conflict

Maddie Griswold, Editor

On Friday January 13, another Vance Lecture was held in Mattison auditorium. Kent hosted diplomat and historian Mr. Charles Hill of Yale to discuss religion and its role in world affairs.

This lecture is part of a series dedicated to the late Cyrus R Vance ‘35, who served as Secretary of State from 1977-80 in the Carter Administration, which focuses on the prevention and resolution of violent conflict in our world.

According to Father Schell, “Cy was always known as a peacemaker, a strong negotiator and always someone who was trying to keep the peace, so that is the tradition we are trying to continue at Kent with these lectures.” The lecturer, Mr. Hill, was in the diplomatic service during Mr. Vance’s time as Secretary of State. He shared his insight regarding the role of religion both as an agitator of conflict and as a potential means of resolution.

The topics Mr. Hill covered ranged from the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia to the failed humanitarian intervention in Somalia, analyzing the various attitudes the world powers adopted over the years toward peacekeeping. Mr. Hill discussed both the attitude of “Responsibility to Protect” and of “Conflict Resolution” as United States means to solve conflicts.

Mr. Hill focused on both the current and past strife instigated by religion, saying that the “modern era was given the task of being secular and we failed. It was supposed to be the age of reason but instead we had a resurgence of conflicting religious ideals.” Describing religion as a “language to express the inexpressible,” Mr. Hill also noted that America “really is exceptional because America is able to operate, one religion with another.”

Mr. Hill’s presentation was followed by a lively question and answer session, which highlighted the Kent students’ interest in the subject matter at hand.