In the context of the global turn within the historical discipline, historians of religion have increasingly turned their attention to new forms and expressions of internationalism. Moving away from traditional themes such as ultramontanism, papal diplomacy, and Protestant networks of influence, they are now focusing on religious actors, both collective and individual, whose practices and value systems have contributed to the emergence of distinctive forms of religious internationalism. This "international" or "global" turn in religious history has led to a revisiting of established historiographical subjects, including abolitionist campaigns or the history of missions, situating them within imperial, transnational, and connected frameworks.

In pursuing these lines of enquiry, historians of religion encounter a historiographical field that has itself developed considerably in recent decades: that of global, transnational, and internationalist history. Conversely, while older histories of globalization and internationalism once incorporated analyses of religion, the emergence of an ostensibly secular international order after the Second World War has led to faith being relatively overshadowed. Yet, there has been growing attention towards understanding the intersections between the sacred and the laic. This workshop aims to contribute to the convergence of these two historiographies from a specific field: that of international and multilateral organizations. While sociologists, anthropologists, and political scientists have already demonstrated the analytical value of linking religion and international organizations, historical scholarship in this area remains comparatively underdeveloped.

Multilateralism emerged within a liberal tradition of internationalism. It developed within an institutional framework and on the basis of explicitly secular values, which explains the Holy See's enduring mistrust of new multilateral organizations as they emerged, first the League of Nations and then the United Nations, which were long perceived as competitors. Nevertheless, recent studies have shown that since the end of World War II, churches, as well as individual and collective religious actors, have become increasingly involved in the multilateral system, whether directly or indirectly. The Holy See has held permanent observer status at the United Nations since 1964. Since its foundation in 1948, the World Council of Churches has cooperated with various international agencies on issues of peace, social justice, and ecology. In 1947, the Quakers established a United Nations Office in New York and Geneva. Many Christian NGOs have played a significant role within the UN system since its inception and are very active in many areas, including humanitarian aid, social regulations, and development. Similarly, Christian trade unions have long been represented and involved in discussions within the International Labor Organization. This is not to forget the role of personal faith in shaping how individuals come to work in and how they engage with the multilateral system.Beyond this direct institutional and individual involvement, this workshop also aims to examine how Christian values, whether explicitly promoted by religious actors or expressed in secular language, have shaped the universalist principles promoted by multilateral organizations themselves, and how this influence has evolved over time. On issues as diverse as family policies, women's rights, human rights in the broad sense, and corporate social responsibility, we will explore the extent to which Christianity has provided a cognitive, normative, or moral framework for multilateral approaches and action, how this influence has evolved over time as well as the contestations associated with these influences. 

This exploratory workshop brings together historians of religion and international historians to reflect collectively on the intersection of these two historiographical traditions within the specific field of multilateralism. The participation of scholars from other disciplines will enable engagement with research already developed in contemporary context.

Among the major questions likely to structure the debates, the following are particularly noteworthy:

1. Actors, both individual and collective, with particular attention to female actors, who are prominent in the sources yet often underrepresented in accounts of religious internationalism and multilateralism.
2. Values, focusing on their circulation, processes of secularization over time, and the conflicts they generate within international organizations.
    
3. Spaces, understood both as institutional settings (international organizations, forums, agencies) and as global spaces of circulation.
    
4. Temporalities and dynamics of change, examining continuities, ruptures, and reconfigurations of religious presence within the multilateral system from the twentieth to the twenty-first century.

Organisers: Sandrine Kott, Bernard Keo