Religion, mediation, and political conflict

This chapter explores the interrelationship among religion, politics, and conflict resolution. The story of Western modernity has been one in which the removal of religion from politics is seen as creating conditions for peace. This worldview has exerted a deep influence in approaches to conflict resolution, which have often framed religion as a source of violence and division more than peace. Yet, in spite of the predictions of secularization, religion remains, in Jeffrey Haynes’s framing, “a stubbornly persistent” actor in global conflict. Many of the most significant political conflicts today have a religious dimension, whether it concerns the rise of Christian nationalism in the United States, ongoing debates about Islam in Europe, conflicts in the Arab Middle East and Iran, the war in Ukraine, tensions in the Balkans, or the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan. Even when religion is not the root cause of conflict (as is often the case), it is pulled in as a factor that nevertheless needs to be acknowledged and addressed. This chapter looks at the role of religion in conflict resolution and especially the possibilities for religious mediation. Through reference to various contemporary case studies, the chapter will explore how religion can contribute to political conflict resolution.