Saying governments cannot lead a world they do not understand, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry highlighted the impact of religion on foreign policy during a Tuesday speech in Houston, Texas.

“We cannot understand the world if we fail to comprehend and honor the central role that religion plays in the lives of billions of people,” Kerry said at Rice University.

It was his first speech focusing exclusively on the topic of religion and foreign policy.

However, a senior State Department official said Kerry has long recognized the importance of understanding religious dynamics as part of the “broader U.S. foreign policy making.”

In 2013, Kerry established the State Department’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs as part of the Obama administration’s initiative to encourage interfaith cooperation.

“With 84 percent of people around the world identifying with a religious group, religion is a powerful force in global politics and civil society – one that must be taken seriously,” the State Department said in a 2015 fact sheet.

Source: MENA