Religious Leaders and Conflict Transformation
Northern Ireland and Beyond

The book introduces a theoretical framework to understand the role of religious leaders in conflict transformation and peacebuilding.

Nukhet A. Sandal (Author)

9781316614051, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 10 May 2018

208 pages
22.9 x 15.4 x 1.3 cm, 0.32 kg

'How do religious leaders promote ideas about peace? Sandal shows that they are knowledge producers, engaged in public theology capable of transforming conflicts. Her research is empirically rich, compelling, and exciting, a fascinating contribution to the study of religion and current affairs.' Ron Hassner, University of California, Berkeley and author of Religion on the Battlefield

Religious dimension of contemporary conflicts and the rise of faith-based movements worldwide require policymakers to identify the channels through which religious leaders can play a constructive role. While religious fundamentalisms are in the news every day, we do not hear about the potential and actual role of religious actors in creating a peaceful and just society. Countering this trend, Sandal draws attention to how religious actors helped prepare the ground for stabilizing political initiatives, ranging from abolition of apartheid (South Africa), to the signing of the Lome Peace Agreement (Sierra Leone). Taking Northern Ireland as a basis and using declarations and speeches of more than forty years, this book builds a new perspective that recognizes the religious actors' agency, showing how religious actors can have an impact on public opinion and policymaking in today's world.

Acknowledgements
1. Religious actors and conflict transformation: theory and practice
2. Situating religious actors in Irish history
3. Churches in 'troubles': leaders, institutions and political involvement
4. From diagnosis to treatment: devising an inclusive public theology of citizenship
5. Public theology of inclusive governance: peace deals and political agreements
6. Religious epistemic communities in a post-conflict setting
7. Beyond Northern Ireland: religious expertise and conflict transformation
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Law [L], Peacekeeping operations [JWLP], Religious freedom / freedom of worship [JPVH4], Human rights [JPVH], Religious groups: social & cultural aspects [JFSR], Religion & politics [HRAM2]