Fortune magazine's "World's Greatest Leaders" ranking is an annual list of compiled leaders who have impacts on their communities and around the world. Five religiously associated leaders made this year's list.
The publication indicates the list's purpose is to recognize the efforts of these leaders in their bid to make the world a better place through visionary leadership. The following three themes recur among the projects of these leaders: acknowledging hope and reality; bringing followers physically together; and building bridges.
This year's religious leaders, along with WRN briefs, include:
No. 3 Pope Francis: The Latin-American Pope is an inspiring figure to many, not just the Catholic faithful. The Pope reconciled the conflicting demands of traditional Catholic belief and Modernity. In the publication, Amoris Laetitia, the Pope asked the Church hierarchy to be accommodative of divorced Catholics and LGBT worshippers. His four-year tenure has seen him reconcile the Catholic and the Orthodox Church. Beyond the Church, the Pope has not shied from criticizing capitalism. In a December gathering at the Vatican, the Pope called on world leaders to do more to reach out to the people shut out from the fruits of the global economy.
No. 15 Dr. Katharine Hayhoe: This Canadian climate scientist and an Evangelical Christian resides in Texas. She is a climate change advocate and is a formidable force in educating the population on climate change through her series on PBS, Global Weirding. She is patient and compassionate in her approach toward the issue. Her husband is a linguistics professor and a pastor. Together, they authored "Climate for Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-Based Decisions in 2009."
No. 34 Linda Sarsour: As a Muslim Palestinian-American political activist, the former executive director of the Arab-American Association of New York is at the forefront of championing for women's rights from equal pay to reproductive rights. The four activists coordinated the women's march in Washington to send a message that women's rights were non-negotiable.
No. 46 Chancellor "Chance the Rapper" Bennett: This activist is a 23-year-old independent musician who releases mixtapes. His style infuses Christian themes into hip-hop music and refers to Jesus Christ. Chance is a Christian faithful. Recently he released a mixtape entitled "Coloring Book," and it won three Grammy awards. Coloring Book became the first stream-only record to win a Grammy. Chance is an anti-violence campaigner in Chicago, his hometown. The rapper donated a million dollars to public schools in Chicago, claiming the Illinois governor had neglected educational funding.
No. 48 Sadiq Khan: He is the first-ever Muslim mayor in London. The son of Pakistani immigrants is a charismatic human rights lawyer and a proud vocal feminist. He is the face of London's diversity, global city persona and business hub. The mayor openly defends an "open" London following Brexit. He has been vocal in his opinion that a hard Brexit, separating the city from the European Union, will be spell doom for Britain's engine of growth.
