Are religions a curse in the peacebuilding process as they can fuel conflicts, or a blessing in that they give rise to peacemakers thanks to ethics which promote living and peace? Organizations with a religious background working in international cooperation are given a hard time by a considerable proportion of Swiss society. This can be put down to images in the media, among other things. We hear more about extremist Muslims and the cases of abuse in the Catholic Church than the potential of religions as forces to bring about change in society, for example. What’s more, there is a growth paradigm in development policy, which has long been dominated by economic and technical factors and has ignored religious and cultural ones.
In fact, religious factors can exacerbate conflicts, support oppressive structures or exclude people of other faiths, thus impeding the promotion of peace. Having said that, ethical values and visions of a “good, peaceful life” play a crucial role in all religions. They therefore present a strong counter accent to prevailing values such as consumption, egoism, and growth at any cost, place peaceful coexistence at the center, and are a creative social force. Religious actors often stand up for excluded individuals, the environment, and a transformation in politics and the economy. In many countries, religious representatives enjoy a high level of trust among the population and take on the role of mediators in conflict situations. They denounce injustices, call for the renunciation of violence, and unite people across different religious, ethnic groups and social classes.
Ambivalence in dealing with religion
More than 80 percent of the world’s population identifies with a religion. In many societies, this has a major impact on how people co-exist. And this role is ambivalent, as religions offer both potentials and risks. It is specifically because it is not easy to deal with these ambivalences that there is a risk that the religious factor will be ignored or not analyzed in enough detail. From 2002 to 2009, under the leadership of Anne-Marie Holenstein, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) initiated a first process of reflection and research on religion and spirituality in development cooperation, which led to several case studies and publications, but then went no further. However, the question of the role of religion in peacebuilding and peace politics is being been raised more and more in recent times, such as by the Human Security Division HSD, combined with further training provided in collaboration with the Center for Security Studies at ETHZ, or more recent training courses at swisspeace. In Germany, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) addressed the issues of religion and development, also with regard to cooperation with religions, in the Agenda 2030.
Potentials and risks
It makes sense to see religion as a force with peacebuilding potential, especially when it comes to peace work. Religious communities can motivate their members to live together peacefully and reconcile their differences. Religious leaders have a key role to play in this. They can promote peace strategies that are inherent in religions and convey religiously-motivated values that reinforce the renunciation of violence. Religious societies are also well networked and present for people in remote areas throughout the world and bring people from different cultures and social milieus together under one roof.
The often significant role of religious communities also gives them power and influence. The exercise of power is ambivalent because it can be used for both good and bad. Peace can be threatened if religious groups claim their convictions as the only absolute truth. This can result in intolerance, stigmatization, discrimination against “others” and even violence. The exploitation of religion by external parties also poses a risk, for example when ethnic and religious differences are deliberately misused for political power interests and played off against each other. Religions are therefore often involved in conflicts and can become part of the problem or intensify it. However, contrary to widespread opinion, peace and conflict research has shown that religions are almost never the actual, sole cause of conflicts. It is well known that conflicts are extremely complex and multifaceted. Conflicts often arise out of political and economic power interests, which result in discrimination against certain population groups and, if the opportunity presents itself, exploit religious affiliation.
Lessons learned in practice
Due to the ambivalence inherent in religion, it is important to tread carefully with this subject. Careful conflict and actor analyses that consider religious and cultural factors must be taken into account. That is why, together with the Bread for All cooperation community, Mission 21 has further developed the 3 Steps Manual for Working in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations, originally developed by KOFF/swisspeace and Helvetas. If we are aware of the potentials and risks of religious factors and organizations, we can further improve the effectiveness of our programs.
The peacebuilding potential of churches is often clearly evident, as is the case with the South Sudan Council of Churches (SSCC) and the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan (PCOSS). In a civil war charged with power politics in which ethnic groups are exploited and incited against each other, the Church is one of the few institutions that still enjoys the trust of the population, since it unites different ethnic groups and provides day-to-day support for those who are suffering. However, there is often a lack of qualified personnel, which is why long-term capacity development measures are very important also, for successful peace work. It therefore demands a great deal of patience on the part of the foreign partners too. Longstanding relationships form an important, trustful basis for cooperation.
Reflection is also important: In order not to jeopardize peace processes, nobody should be offended or even excluded from the process by different religious traditions and views. Having said that, it is vital that one’s own religious identity is reflected: I can only enter into a dialog with people of other faiths on equal footing if I know what I (don’t) believe and why.
We live in a pluralistic world, but religious, cultural, and ethnic diversity is not only perceived as an enrichment, but partly as a threat. Interreligious and interethnic understanding and alliances for peace and the improvement of living conditions can defuse conflicts. By particularly promoting young people and women, we can promote confidence building and interethnic and interreligious initiatives in grassroots communities whilst also stimulating dialog and mediation processes at national or international level through key religious figures, as the experience of Mission 21 in Indonesia or South Sudan shows.
The deeply rooted religious (not just Christian) concepts of forgiveness and reconciliation also pave the way for peace. The first interreligious refugee and peace village, Gurku in Nigeria, initiated by Mission 21 partners, is a hopeful example of this.
