Greer and Morrison press faith leaders to shape global policy

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison used the G20 Interfaith Forum in Salt Lake City to argue that faith communities should help shape economic and development policy. Their remarks framed religion as a source of moral guidance, local knowledge and trust ahead of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Miami.

Why it matters: - Greer and Morrison used an international faith forum to push a broader role for religious groups in economic and development policy. - The message landed ahead of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Miami on Dec. 14-15, where poverty, debt, food insecurity and labor issues are expected to remain high on the agenda. - The forum’s backers are trying to position faith communities as practical partners, not just symbolic voices, in global governance.

What happened: - U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer and former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivered keynote addresses Friday at the G20 Interfaith Forum in Salt Lake City. - The two morning plenaries opened the first full day of IF20’s first annual forum held in the United States. - The sessions took place at the University of Utah Institute of Religion on Oct. 16, 2026. - Greer spoke in a plenary titled “Unleashing Human Potential for the Common Good.” - Morrison spoke in a plenary titled “Deadline 2030: Extending G20 Horizons.”

The details: - Greer said every faith tradition expects people to work, but human worth should not be measured in economic terms. - Greer warned that offshoring has hollowed out local economies and said policy should help people meet their needs in their own towns. - Greer said global economic policy should serve society, not the other way around. - Greer urged governments, families and faith communities to treat people as producers first. - Greer invited faith groups to bring specific, practical ideas to his office. - Dr. Kim Tan of the Transformational Business Network Alliance described enterprises that run low-cost schools, employ survivors of trafficking and restore degraded land. - Tan said lasting change requires enterprise, even though aid and charity still have a place. - Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement described nearly 70 years of community development in Sri Lanka reaching about 15,000 communities. - Eric LeCompte of Jubilee USA Network said debt relief remains the strongest issue the G20 continues to lead on. - Anne Simmons-Benton of Women20 USA cited findings that closing gender gaps in agrifood systems would add $1 trillion to global GDP and lift 45 million people out of food insecurity. - Kevin Hyland OBE, chief executive of SMI and the United Kingdom’s first Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, said about 50 million people remain trapped in trafficking and modern slavery. - Hyland said 99 percent of victims are missed and 99.9 percent of perpetrators go unpunished. - Morrison said politics cannot replace religion and that faith provides moral direction policy alone cannot supply. - Morrison said science can explain what is happening, but not why or which direction society should take. - Morrison said faith helps build trust between strangers and strengthen societies and nations. - Morrison said the answer to bad religion is not no religion, but good religion. - Professor Melissa Rogers of Wake Forest University School of Divinity said the Ebola response in West Africa depended on religious leaders as well as public health experts. - Rogers called for restoring humanitarian aid where it has been cut and for religious freedom for everyone, everywhere. - Steve Messeh, director of the Center for Faith at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said local faith-based groups helped deliver 17 million boxes of food through the Farmers to Families Food Box program during COVID-19. - Rev. Dr. David Beckmann of Bread for the World said progress against poverty is slowing and urged participants to press governments ahead of the December G20 meeting. - Dr. Esben Lunde Larsen of the World Bank’s Pandemic Fund called on faith-based organizations to form national councils that governments can partner with. - Lunde Larsen said young people need to be part of the table and the conversation. - Elissa McConkie Gifford of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints described the church’s grassroots work strengthening women and children. - IF20 President W. Cole Durham and Vice President Katherine Marshall opened the day. - Marshall said the forum’s aim is to bring religious wisdom and experience into global governance, including the G20. - The plenaries ran from 8:30 to 11:45 a.m. MDT and were moderated by Timothy Stratford of Covington & Burling LLP and Dr. Mohamed Elsanousi of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers. - The full program is available at the 2026 forum program.

Between the lines: - Greer’s remarks tied trade and industrial policy to local community health, reflecting a more values-driven case for economic policy. - Morrison’s framing suggested faith leaders can fill a trust and meaning gap that governments and markets often leave open. - The speakers repeatedly pointed to concrete examples — food delivery, anti-slavery work, debt relief and community development — to argue that faith groups can do more than offer moral commentary. - The forum also made a broader case that global problems are too complex for governments alone and require coordinated action from religious, civic and multilateral institutions.

What's next: - IF20 concludes Oct. 17. - Organizers and participants are expected to continue pushing these themes ahead of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Miami in December. - Faith leaders were invited to bring practical policy ideas and partner with government offices and international institutions.

The bottom line: - The G20 Interfaith Forum is trying to turn faith communities into active policy partners on the world’s hardest economic and humanitarian problems.