Relationships between peace, politics and religion are often controversial, and sometimes problematic. Religion is a core source of identity for billions of people around the world and it is hardly surprising that sometimes it becomes involved in conflicts. At the same time, we can see religion involved not only in conflict. It is also central to conflict resolution, peace-making and peacebuilding. Religious involvement is often necessary to try to end hatred and differences, frequently central to political conflicts especially, but not only, in the Global South. Evidence shows that religious leaders and faith-based organisations can play constructive roles in helping to end violence, and in some cases, build peace via early warnings of conflict, good offices once conflict has erupted, as well as advocacy, mediation and reconciliation. The chapters of this book highlight that religion can encourage both conflict and peace, through the activities of people individually and collectively imbued with religious ideas and ideals.

Relationships between peace, politics and religion are often controversial, and sometimes problematic. Religion is a core source of identity for billions of people around the world and it is hardly surprising that sometimes it becomes involved in conflicts. At the same time, we can see religion involved not only in conflict. It is also central to conflict resolution, peace-making and peacebuilding. Religious involvement is often necessary to try to end hatred and differences, frequently central to political conflicts especially, but not only, in the Global South. Evidence shows that religious leaders and faith-based organisations can play constructive roles in helping to end violence, and in some cases, build peace via early warnings of conflict, good offices once conflict has erupted, as well as advocacy, mediation and reconciliation. The chapters of this book highlight that religion can encourage both conflict and peace, through the activities of people individually and collectively imbued with religious ideas and ideals.

Peace on Earth: The Role of Religion in Peace and Conflict Studies provides a critical analysis of faith and religious institutions in peacebuilding practice and pedagogy. The work captures the synergistic relationships among faith traditions and how multiple approaches to conflict transformation and peacebuilding result in a creative process that has the potential to achieve a more detailed view of peace on earth, containing breadth as well as depth. Library and bookstore shelves are filled with critiques of the negative impacts of religion in conflict scenarios. Peace on Earth: The Role of Religion in Peace and Conflict Studies offers an alternate view that suggests religious organizations play a more complex role in conflict than a simply negative one. Faith-based organizations, and their workers, are often found on the frontlines of conflict throughout the world, conducting conflict management and resolution activities as well as advancing peacebuilding initiatives.

Although religion is almost never a root cause, it often gets pulled into conflict as a powerful element, especially where conflicting parties have different religious identities. Every faith tradition offers resources for peace, and secular policy makers are more and more acknowledging the influence of faith-based actors, even though there remains a tendency to associate religion more with conflict than peace. In this text, practitioners from different faiths relate and explore the many challenges they face in their peacebuilding work, which their secular partners may be unaware of. The contributors are all practitioners whose faith or religious experience motivates their work for peace and justice in such a way that it influences their actions. Their roles are diverse, as some work for faith-based institutions, while others engage in secular contexts. The multiple perspectives featured represent multiple faiths (Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish), diverse scopes of practice, different geographic regions. Each chapter follows a similar template to address specific challenges, such as dealing with extremist views, addressing negative stereotypes about one’s faith, endorsing violence, developing relations with other faith-based or secular groups, confronting gender-based violence, and working with people who hold different beliefs. In this text, practitioners from different faiths relate and explore the many challenges they face in their peacebuilding work, which their secular partners may be unaware of. They provide a comprehensive view of the practice of peacebuilding in its many challenging aspects, for both professionals and those studying religion and peacebuilding alike.

The use of religion in inflaming the Palestinian/Israeli conflict represents one understanding of the Abrahamic traditions. Marc Goplin argues for a greater integration of the Middle East peace process with the region's religious groups.

In this provocative book, the authors argue that the core religious value of forgiveness can play a real, strategic role in the arena of international conflict and diplomacy.

A comprehensive overview of the latest research in religion and conflict resolution, this collection of twenty three essays brings together leading scholars in the field examining the contribution religious actors have made and are making towards peace and resolving. The Ashgate Research Companion to Religion and Conflict Resolution is primarily aimed at readerships with special interest in conflict resolution, international security, and religion and international relations, and will also serve as a valuable resource for policy makers and conflict resolution practitioners. The collection comprises five thematic sections, each with chapters on vital and mainly contemporary topics in the field of religion and conflict resolution. The principal themes include: ¢

Religious freedom has achieved broad consensus as a condition for peace. Faced with reports of a rise in religious violence and a host of other social ills, public, and private actors have responded with laws and policies designed to promote freedom of religion. But what precisely is being promoted? What are the assumptions underlying this response? The contributions to this volume unsettle the assumption that religious freedom is a singular achievement and that the problem lies in its incomplete accomplishment. Delineating the different conceptions of religious freedom predominant in the world today, as well as their histories and political contexts, the contributions make clear that the reasons for violence and discrimination are more complex than is widely acknowledged. The promotion of a single legal and cultural tool meant to address conflict across a wide variety of cultures can have the perverse effect of exacerbating the problems that plague the communities often cited as falling short. -- from back cover.