Religion and Conflict

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

“Religion is the state of being grasped by an ultimate concern, a concern which qualifies all other concerns as preliminary and which itself contains the answer to the question of the meaning of life.” “Life remains ambiguous as long as there is life. The question implied in the ambiguities of life drives to a new question, namely, that of the direction in which life moves.” Paul Tillich, a twentieth-century Christian theologian, defined religion as our “ultimate concern.” In phenomenological terms, Tillich argued, it entails an encounter with that which is experienced as sacred or holy. But Tillich also recognized the ambiguities of life. Religion, like every other aspect of human life, is ambiguous. In terms of conflict, religion and the sacred can be both a source and a solution. This class will not be satisfied to stay situated in that ambiguity, however, but will be guided by the question of the direction in which life should move. To that end theoretical and practical dimensions of conflict-resolution and active religious peacebuilding will be fully integrated throughout the semester. In order to do so, we will be exploring the relationship between religion and conflict integrating theoretical and practical concerns. Through lectures, discussions, and student presentations we will engage a number of disciplinary lenses, including religious studies, theological studies, social theory, and political theory. Among the theoretical issues to be discussed will be the degree to which religion plays a role in global conflict, the impact of the modern nation-state, nationalism, and secularism to both religion and conflict, the concept of religious freedom in relation to conflict, and the role of women as agents of warfare and peacemaking. The class will conclude with several in-depth examinations of religious agents in various parts of the globe involved in peacemaking today.