About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

20 Fletcher F. World Aff. 53 (1996)
Religion and Conflict Resolution

handle is hein.journals/forwa20 and id is 63 raw text is: RELIGION AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION DOUGLAS M. JOHNSTON Religion as it relates to conflict is a double-edged sword. It can cause conflict or abate it. The divisive influence that religion represents in the affairs of humankind has been widely recognized and documented. Its obverse contri- bution to the advancement of social change on a nonviolent basis, however, is less well known. Under the right circumstances religious or spiritual factors can effectively contribute to the prevention, amelioration, or resolution of conflict.' The Age of Enlightenment brought with it an assumption that religion would become an increasingly marginal influence in international affairs. To some extent, religion has, in fact, been squeezed out of the policymaking equation in the affairs of state-at least in the West. One reflection of this is the fact that the existing paradigm for international relations that has pre- vailed for the past four and a half decades (as reflected in Hans Morgenthau's classic work Politics Among Nations) barely mentions religion, and then only in passing. Nowhere in this nation-state model is credence given to the pas- sions that religion generates either on a personal level or in international politics. The anticipated triumph of secularism and scientific rationality has proven rather short-lived, however, as a major resurgence of religious traditions has begun to take hold in virtually every part of the globe. Although much of this resurgence is identified with ethnic hostilities and extensive bloodshed, relig- ion, for the most part, has been a complicating factor rather than an under- lying cause of conflict. More often than not, religion is co-opted by the forces of nationalism and has little, if any, leverage of its own over the political process-witness the futility of the joint pronouncements by the leaders of the Catholic, Orthodox, and Muslim faiths in the former Yugoslavia condemn- ing ethnic cleansing and calling for a halt to the violence. Whatever its con- tribution, though, religion is clearly seen by most analysts to be a part of the problem rather than the solution. In examining the positive potential that religion offers for preventing or Douglas M. Johnston is Executive Vice President of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He also chairs the Center's Program on Religion and Conflict Resolution and is co-editor and principal author of Religion, The Missing Dimension of Statecraft. Mr. Johnston retains copyright to this article.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most