Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Making Peace with Faith: The Challenges of Religion and Peacebuilding (Peace and Security in the 21st Century)

Although religion is almost never a root cause, it often gets pulled into conflict as a powerful element, especially where conflicting parties have different religious identities. Every faith tradition offers resources for peace, and secular policy makers are more and more acknowledging the influence of faith-based actors, even though there remains a tendency to associate religion more with conflict than peace. In this text, practitioners from different faiths relate and explore the many challenges they face in their peacebuilding work, which their secular partners may be unaware of. The contributors are all practitioners whose faith or religious experience motivates their work for peace and justice in such a way that it influences their actions. Their roles are diverse, as some work for faith-based institutions, while others engage in secular contexts. The multiple perspectives featured represent multiple faiths (Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish), diverse scopes of practice, different geographic regions. Each chapter follows a similar template to address specific challenges, such as dealing with extremist views, addressing negative stereotypes about one's faith, endorsing violence, developing relations with other faith-based or secular groups, confronting gender-based violence, and working with people who hold different beliefs. In this text, practitioners from different faiths relate and explore the many challenges they face in their peacebuilding work, which their secular partners may be unaware of. They provide a comprehensive view of the practice of peacebuilding in its many challenging aspects, for both professionals and those studying religion and peacebuilding alike. Review This collection of 12 evenly structured and strikingly original essays represents a significant contribution to the growing academic field that examines the role religion plays in peacebuilding. For those specializing in this new academic area, these essays represent a notable addition to a subfield that specializes in individual testimonies that provide creative and consistent religious contributions to peacebuilding. As for readers who are new to this discipline, and who may be interested in deepening their understanding of the relationships between religious belief and public policy, this text provides a useful and accessible introduction.--International Journal on World Peace Making Peace with Faith dives deep into the complex roles religious actors play in working for peace. Would that it were true that ALL are taking religious roles more seriously: religion is still often ignored or demonized. This book explores the topic honestly, highlighting both the potential and the religious contradictions that faith-inspired peacebuilders experience. This work, it demonstrates, is not for the faint of heart but our hopes for peace have far better prospects if faith is part of the solution.--Katherine Marshall, Senior Fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs Making Peace with Faith is an incredible resource for practitioners and researchers to better understand major challenges faced by inter-faith peacemakers. Not only do the authors vividly reflect upon their own foundational challenges in faith-based peace-making, but they provide insights into complex contexts to overcome these issues. We learn how faith in practice versus faith understood often does not complement critical approaches to faith-based peace-building. This book is a must read for all of those who want to gain insight and wisdom from the world of faith-based peace-building and conflict resolution.--Qamar-ul Huda, Former Senior Advisor, U.S. Dept of State Office of Religion & Global Affairs This collection is a treasure house of knowledge and practical experience on the battle-fronts of inter-sectarian peacemaking. The authors provide detailed accounts of their faith-inspired efforts to ease and transform confli