32
The Role of Religion in Conflict and Peacebuilding
// British Academy
According to Berling (2004), Confucianism has the potential to work for
the common good, thanks to its notion of harmony and its stress on
moral values and rituals. The works of Johnston (2003) and Little (2007)
also contain case studies on Asia as well as other regions.
In their collection of essays, Polner and Goodman (1994) provide
a first-hand account of the traditions of non-violent conflict resolution
in Judaism. Similarly, Steinberg (2000) argued that there are specific
Jewish approaches to conflict prevention and mediation, a theme also
developed comprehensively by Marc Gopin, a prominent author and
practitioner in the field of conflict resolution, who specialises on the
Middle East. Gopin’s (2000) central argument is that while the world’s
major religions, in this case the three monotheistic ones, have histori-
cally and until today contributed significantly to violence, they can also
be a key source of peace and conflict resolution, and their commit-
ment towards peace can be identified in both classical theology and in
modern interpretations. He notes, for example, that in Judaism there
is the biblical concept of God fighting battles for the Children of Israel
and Rabbinic analyses of
milhemet hova
(obligatory war) and
milhemet
mitzvah
(war as fulfilment of a positive deed before God), but alongside
those are the Rabbinic belief in ‘shalom’
(peace) and ‘pikuach nefesh’
(preservation of life). In Islam, the Qur’an
identifies jihad (holy war), but
later interpretations split this into state jihad
and religious jihad. There
are also both peaceful and violent interpretations of the Mahdi tradition
of a prophesied redeemer in Islam. Gopin highlights the complexities
within all these religions in the way they conceive war, violence, peace
and nonviolence.
Gopin (2000) bases his critique of Western diplomacy on its ignorance
of religious values and practices. He argues that religion and religious
values need to be merged with traditional Western conflict resolution
policies and practices, and that religious values, such as empathy,
nonviolence and sanctity of human life, should be used to frame the
language of conflict resolution. To achieve this, there is a need for a com-
prehensive understanding of religious values, institutions and practices,
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