Ekklesia, July 6, www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/12558
A surprising number of high-profile peacebuilders in the last generation have been religious figures, says Daniel Philpott of the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies – who is launching a new programme on religion and peace.
Faith-motivated people – from Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Pope John Paul II to theologians and activists working in every major religion worldwide – have promoted the concept of reconciliation, which has shaped the politics of countries from South Africa and Guatemala to Timor-Leste and Iraq.
“The idea of reconciliation has deep roots in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and other faiths,” says Philpott, associate professor of political science and peace studies, who is directing a new research programme on religion and reconciliation at the Kroc Institute.
“To be sure, religious people are not always reconcilers; in some settings they are supporters of violent division. Nor is reconciliation an exclusively religious concept. But reconciliation does have a strong affinity to religion, and many religious people are highly motivated to be peacebuilders.”