RELIGION AND CONFLICT

Author(s): Luc Reychler

Source: International Journal of Peace Studies , January 1997, Vol. 2, No. 1 (January
1997), pp. 19-38
Published by: International Peace Research Association (IPRA)

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.com/stable/45037971

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 RELIGION AND CONFLICT

Luc Reychler

Introduction: Towards a Religion of World Politics?

The New World Order cannot be understood without accounting for the role
and religious organizations. During the Cold War, not much attention w
phenomenon of nationalism and religion. Marxists, Liberals, nation-builders a
specialists treated it as a marginal variable. In the Western political systems a fron
drawn between man's inner life and his public actions, between religion and po
is characterized by a desecularisation of politics and a dépolitisation of religion. Par
Western opinion views religion as irrational and premodern; "a throw-back to the
before the Enlightenment taught the virtues of rationality and decency, and bent
to constructive, rather than destructive purposes" (Weigel, 1991: 27). In the Co
religion was officially stigmatized as the opium of the people and repressed
integration and modernization, secularization was considered a sine qua non
Consequently, the explosion of nationalist and ethnic conflicts was a great surp
What about religious conflicts? Are we in for surprises too? The a
probably. As late as August 1978, a US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
confidently that "Iran is not in a revolutionary or even a pre-Revolutionary s
Williamson (1990) considers this the most glaring example of Western incomp
misconception of Modern Islam. The fundamental mistake of Western observe
the assumption that since Christianity plays little direct role in shaping po
nations, the separation of religion and political decision-making can be assume
East as well. Since the fall of the Shah, research about the role of religions in conf
has increased. The amount of research, however, lags considerable behind the
of ethnic and nationalistic conflicts.
The attention for the role of religion in conflicts has been stimulated b
negative developments, including the desecularisation of the World and the r
conflicts. In most Strategic Surveys, attention is now paid to the militant for
fundamentalism as a threat to peace. Also important has been the phenomenon
or the cross denominational cooperation between the progressives and traditionalist
to certain specific issues (Hunter, 1991). Illustrative is the view of the Catholic
Islam Fundamentalists vis à vis the Report by the United Nations Population Fund
growth.
Attention has also been drawn by the increased engagement of churches or church
communities in the search for detente or constructive management of conflicts. Think of the

International Journal of Peace Studies , Volume 2, Number 1, January 1997

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20 Religion and Conflict

voice of the American bishops i

democratic emancipation of Cen
conflict dynamics in several Af
in South Africa with Desmon
1990; Badal, 1990), Mozambi
played an important role in t
1992. It ended a gory war in w
on the run for safety. In Zair
the "High Council of the Repub
President Mobutu and his opp
population, are now mediatin
prevent further violence. Finall
people in the Third World with
services in conflicts areas, inc
To get a better grasp of wh
promote a constructive conflict
positive or negative roles they
to reduce the negative and st
conflicting parties, as bystan

Table 1: Religious Orga

CONFLICTING PARTIES

BYSTANDERS

PEACE-BUILDERS AND PEACE-IN MAKERS

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 Luc Reychler 21

Religion and V

1. Religious Wars

Since the awakening o

goddesses. Still today
national, inter-state, ec
life, conflicts based o
When conflicts are co
Unlike other issues,
distributive means, va
issues. They entail stro
cannot be a common gr
Sudan have been cast
which appear unresol
is, as it has ever been,
be remembered that i
Lenin, Stalin, Hitler,
murdered millions of
religious or other tran
1991: 39). Those poli
religion.
In a world where many governments and international organizations are suffering from
a legitimacy deficit, one can expect a growing impact of religious discourses on international
politics. Religion is a major source of soft power. It will, to a greater extent, be used or
misused by religions and governmental organizations to pursue their interests. It is therefore
important to develop a more profound understanding of the basic assumption underlying the
different religions and the ways in which people adhering to them see their interests. It would
also be very useful to identify elements of communality between the major religions.
The major challenge of religious organizations remains to end existing and prevent new
religious conflicts. In December 1992, 24 wars were counted with a religious background
(adjusted AKUF-Kriege-Datenbank). Most of them were situated in Northern Africa, the Middle
East, the ex-USSR and Asia. In Europe there were only two: Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland.
No religious wars were registered in the Americas (See Table 2).
These wars could be further classified by distinguishing violent conflicts within and
between religions and between religious organizations and the central government. In Europe,
Bosnian Muslims have, for more than two years, been brutally harried by Serbs who are called
christians. On the border between Europe and Asia, Christian Armenians have thumped Muslim
Azzeris, and Muslims and Jews still shoot each other in Palestine. Further east, Muslims
complain of the Indian army's brutality to them in Kashmir, and of Indian Hindu's destruction
of the Ayodhya mosque in 1992. Islam, as Samuel Huntington has put it, has bloody borders
(Huntington, 1993). It was Huntington who recently provided the intellectual framework to pay

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22 Religion and Conflict

Table 2: War with a R

1. Mayanamar/Burma

2. Israel/Palestinian

3. Northern Ireland

4. Philippines 1970 vs. Christians (Catholics)

(Mindanao)

5. Bangladesh

6. Lebanon 1975 Shiites supported by Syria (Amai) vs. Shiites

7. Ethiopia (Promo)

8. India (Punjab)

9. SudanWITH

10. Mali-Tuareg Nomads 1990 Muslims vs. Central government

11. Azerbejdan

12. India (Kasjmir)

13. Indonesia (Aceh)

14. Iraq

15. Yugoslavia (

16. Yugoslavia (Bosnia) 1991 Orthodox Christians vs. Catholics vs. Muslims

17. Afghanistan

18. Tadzhikistan

19. Egypt 1977 Muslims vs. Central government (Muslim) Muslims

20. Tunesia

21. Algeria

22. Uzbekisgtan

23. India (Uthar- 1992 Hindus vs. Muslims

Pradesh)

24. Sri Lanka

source: Gantzel et

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Luc Reychler 23

more attention to t
other by history, lan
He expects more c
differences have alwa
the world is becom
civilization consciou
stretching or though
state as a source of id
basis of identity and
because of the dual
At the same time, it
to shape the world in
less mutable and hen
(6) finally, because
Of course there are
or disintegrating pre
a more sophisticated
For each conflict in
least six variables wh
(See Figure 1).

ethnic-racial
disintegrating religious ' . . ..
disintegrating centrifugal religious cultural-linguistic^^ '
pressures ' power /
' xxterritorial
f . . _ X/ pressures
. . _
economic

Figure Is A Cross-Impact Analysis of Conflicts in Which Religion Is Involved

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 24 Religion and Conflict

2. Low-Intensity Violence

To further their interests re

political repression and terrorism
into hiding from Muslim fundam
its fanatic religious fundament
until his death in November 199
Kahane believed in a perpetual
fundamentalists in the US cater
in which "we" are right, and all c
1987).
"Because they are evil and aggressive forces of chaos in the world, we then have to be
strongly armed, but do not perceive ourselves as aggressive even when attacking other countries"
(Williamson, 1992: 11). Intolerance is also spawn by a minority of Islamic organizations, like
Egypt's Gama' at al-Islamiya, Libanon's Hezbullah or Algeria's Islamic fundamentalists. All
pursue a policy of violent confrontation, based on the convention that armed struggle or jihad
is a necessary and appropriate response to the enemies of God, despotic rulers and their Western
allies.

3. Structural Violence

Several religious organizations also support structural violence by endorsing a centralized

and authoritarian decision-making structure and the repression of egalitarian forces. Churches
have sympathized with authoritarian government. The concord of the Vatican with Portugal in
1940, the agreement with Franco in 1941, and the support of authorian regimes in Latin- America
were clear statements. Recently, the Vatican disapproved the candidacy of Aristide for President
in Haiti. On the contrary, it recognized the military regime.

4. Cultural Violence

One of the major contributions of Johan Galtung to the understanding of violence is his
exposure of cultural violence or the ways and means to approve or legitimize direct and indirect
violence. Cultural violence could take the form of distinguishing the chosen from the unchosen,
or the upperclasses being closer to God and possessing special rights from the lower classes.
John Paul II, opening the Santo Domingo meetings, warned the Latin American bishops to defend
the faithful from the "rapacious wolves" of Protestant sects. His language dealt a blow to 20
years of ecumenical efforts (Stewart-Gambino, 1994: 132). Cultural violence declares certain
wars as just and others as unjust, as holy or unholy wars.
The peace price given to Radovan Karapi /, the Serbian leader in Bosnia, by the Greek
Orthodox church, for his contribution to world peace could easily be labeled as cultural violence.
In July 1994, Kurt Waldheim was awarded a papal knighthood of the Ordine Piano for

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Luc Reychler 25

safeguarding human
for the Nazis were s
It is clear that the
disappeared from the
safe from religious
abstain from any cul
inter-religious or d
imply several practic
to settle religious d
with respect to their
be published. Anoth
corrupts religious o
for the political inte
Very important is
Extremist rhetoric
Needless to say, extre
which positions tak
propositions, cross-
environments of pu
rhetorical intoleran
concludes that worl
religious dialogue.

Religious Bys

Religious organiza
intervention. As mo
It is implicitly rein
Vatican adopted a neu
or in the concentrati
and not for an evan
who are neither per
indifference based o
sympathy or antipath
500 million Catholic
the internal and ex
communities, is a ma
in the long run, mus
and empathy. Religi

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26 Religion and Conflict

which individual needs would n

not be resolved through aggres

Peace-Building and Pea

Religious organizations are a

powerful warrant for social toler
management. They are peace-bu

1. Peace-Building

Religions contribute to peace-b

political climate, by developing

(1) Empowering people

In the last quarter of this ce
justice in the Third World and a
People can be empowered by of
against the bomb action in Nor
a declaration in the 1980' s supp
engagement was particularly im
letter "The Challenge of Peac
challenged the very foundation
administration's military buildu
People can also be empowered
injustice. In the Third World, ma
of structural violence. The best
black theology in South Africa.
by physical, structural, psycho
the poor is a powerful social fo
church workers, catechists, pries
or murdered while working on
A wide varieties of initiatives
Examples are the Peaceworkers
were in danger. In one case, from
650 refugees in a church surro
presence of the international gro
massacre (Jeger, 1993). Another
which were, according to Fat
internationals as possible for as

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 Luc Reychler 27

countryside to be a pr
for free and open di

(2) Influencing the m

The major variable,
climate. The moral-pol
of the perceived mor
operate. Some climat
conflict-management.
war or peace, toleran

peace

I progressive developement '

religious nationalism -

status-quo
war

Figure 2: Dimensions of the Moral-Political Climate

(3) War vs. peace

With respect to war and peace, the religious approaches could be div
categories: pacifism and just war doctrine (Life and Peace Report,
pacifism could be distinguished: optimistic, mainstream and pessim
some, it means an unconditional rejection of participation in armed stru
to an active engagement in peace-making. The Quakers traditionally

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28 Religion and Conflict

to the dismantling of enemy-im

others have developed non-vio
Christianity is contributing t
the evolution of the just war
framework for reflecting on
determine when resort to arme
determine what conduct within
international law. Some analys
of this doctrine, even though c
and some are considering it n
some theologians of liberatio
Africa, revolutionary second v
system. A just war or just re
authors have argued that the
justum (Peters, 1979). The Isla
declared that their respective r

(4) Religious nationalism vs. e

Religious organisations also m
or nationalism, and to develo
development of an ecumenica
Muslims (Kiing, 1990). A syste
potential of conflict and cooper

(5) Status-quo vs. progressive

Religious have a organisations
pluralism, thereby enhancing
rather than coercion. The imp
in 1989 in Central and East
Totalitarian Mind (1991), Gold
a moral and cultural revolutio
on his homeland Poland in Marc
as a censor doctoring the tele
state. John Paul II left thousa
a nation with rekindled pride, a
1985). Religious organisations
Africa. There is the steadfast
Of great significance was also t
Apartheid and condemned it as
of the moral legitimacy of viol

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 Luc Reychler 29

(6) Development, co
A great number of
base. I do not know
suggest that these e
the world. In 1992 th
and 5 in Oceania. I
emergency aid, 290
micro-projects in oth
Belgium.

2. Peace-Making

Several religious organisations distinguish themselves through peace-making efforts.

Those efforts could be of a traditional diplomatic nature or be categorized as Track II or Field
diplomacy.

(1) Traditional diplomatic efforts

The Vatican has been involved in several cases as a mediator. Its Secretariat of State has
150 members divided over eight language desks. It is represented in 122 countries. Its highest
ranking ambassador is called a nuncio who represents the Pope to the Heads of state and to the
local church. They gain much information of local affairs from the 150,000 parish priests who
preside over 800 million catholics worldwide. To the extent the Vatican lacks traditional state
interests and maintains a sense of objectivity, it makes it a good candidate for international
mediation. During 1978-1984 Pope John Paul II mediated successfully between Argentina and
Chile over a few islands at the tip of South America. Both countries narrowly averted war by
turning to the Vatican as a mediator. The Vatican was succesful only in keeping the parties at
bay, not pushing a settlement. In the end, that proved quite enough once domestic factors,
especially those in Argentina after the Maledives/Falklands war, changed.
According to Thomas Princen (1992), the Papacy has special resources that few world
leaders share. Six resources, which appear to be common to other international actors, stand out.

(a) Moral legitimacy: The Pope has a legitimate stake in issues such as peace-making
or human rights having a spiritual or moral component. During the Beagle Channel mediation,
the Pope appealed to the moral duty to do all necessary to achieve peace between the two
countries.

(b) Neutrality: In the dispute mentioned above, there was no question that the Vatican
had no interests in the disputed islands.

(c) Ability to advance other's political standing. A papal audience, a papal visit or
involvement confers political advantage on state leaders. This advantage can be used at key
junctures in a mediation: gaining access; deciding on agenda and other procedures; delivering

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30 Religion and Conflict

proposals.The demarches done by

the issue peacefully were distru
human rights annoying (Prince

(d) Ability to reach the (wor

of the media. This is especially

(e) Network of information a

of the Catholic Church is exten
conventional diplomatic channel

(f) Secrecy: Confidentiality i

claim to democratic procedures
a secret secret. Maintaining con

Thomas Princen concludes his ana

pay-offs are not the primary obs
face-to-face talks and face-savin
can influence disputants in subtle
mentioned above turned out to be
started out as a six-month enterp
on the whole, however, the Vatic
the dominant paradigm.

(2) Track II Peace-Making

The peace-making activities o
getting more attention. A grea
potential of the rich amount and
Traditionally, a lot of peace w
should "deny all outward wars,
various efforts have been direc
especially efforts to promote bett
in seminars and efforts to work
are the two most well-known a
Adam Curie for conciliation de
about an alteration of perception
their actions, etc.) that will lead
behavior" (Yarrow, 1977).
This kind of conciliation is t
different definition of the situ
power, the Quakers use method
the establishment of confidence

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Luc Reychler 31

impartiality which te
side, trying to put
partiality is the Qu
Quakers have tended
maximise the gains
religious organisation
played by the Cath
Mozambique in Octo
Non-governmental
shared by the traditi
II, parallel, multitra
solving diplomacy re
differs from the tra

(a) Goals: The nong

settlement (by auth
resolution skills). Co
because it transform

(b) Attitude vis-à-

motivations and int
conflict culture of th
men prevails. Track I
at a solution; in other
to help understandi
norms. From the po
would do given wha
options. They believe
should have a say in
democratic environme

(c) Towards a mu
their efforts as comp
be a multi-level eff
involved. The latter
institutions of a sec
a comprehensive ap
cultural and psychol

(d) Peace, a learni

violence and war are
a lack of know-how

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32 Religion and Conflict

warlike or peaceful behavior is

through peace-research and pea

Track II diplomacy involves a s

communication between the ma
without commitment, in all
organisation which can offer pro
between nations; 3) the establishm
4) the creation of a research cent
to support the above mentioned t

(3) Field-diplomacy
Recently we notice, in severa
could be called field-diplomacy
First of all, there is the fai
intergovernmental organisation
Important also is the explosio
efforts absorbing huge budgets
phase of the conflict to prevent
doomed to Sisyphus efforts, an e
of human suffering. When the ta
A third factor stimulating fiel
especially practical experience in
professional conflict-managers.
or physicians who have respective
out their theories, most peace-res
of information to understand the
The confluence of these factors
making approaches: field-diplom
areas, for an extended period, to
This means, in the first place, cr
trustbank is necessary for the ob
assesment of needs and for takin
communication channels betwee
the explorations of solutions, dev
total costs and benefits of the c
agreements An effective contribu
conflict area of professional volu
of the communities in which the
trust of the local opinion-leaders.
of peace-making and peace-build

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 Luc Reychler 33

Among the pioneer

who operated in Ni
Some organisations s
security of threaten
improve conflict prev
peace movements, con
country, and by organ
An NGO with ampl
Common Ground bas
on Soviet-American r
Africa, Macedonia an
approach which draws
solving and facilitati
In Belgium, a simil
the American Univers
and peace democracy
International Alert and UNESCO.
An initiative which could be referred to as a model for field-diplomacy is the Centre for
Peace, Non-violence and Human Rights in Osijek, Croatia, very close to the Serbian border.
The Peace C ntre was founded by a small group of people in May 1991 . They are 20 altogether,
with a core group of five including Croats, Serbs and Moslems. Under the Chairman Katarina
Kruhonja, several initiatives were undertaken to help and to protect people against threats. The
members of the Centre practiced sitting in appartments with Serbs so that they could confront
the soldiers who came with orders to evict them. The members of the Centre promote human
rights, teach methods and strategies of active non-violence, assist in the resettlement of refugees,
mediate in conflict situations, etc. The members of the Center were frequently threatened and
have been accused by the authorities of being unpatriotic traitors. One of the heads of the local
government said that the Centre would be destroyed and members would lose their jobs if they
would continue their activities.
Several organisations are addressing violence in their own countries. Mr.Upchurch is
focussing violence in Los Angeles where in 1,992,857 young men and women were killed in
group related violence. Not only at non-governmental but also at governmental levels, field-
diplomacy projects are being developed. Recently, the United Nations Volunteers started projects
to support the peace process in several conflict areas in the world. Their project in Burundi
endeavours to promote peace at a community level through grassroots confidence building
measures aimed at enabling the emergence, return and social reintegration of persons in hiding
internally displaced people and refugees. Part of the project's efforts will be to shift the dynamic
of inter-group relationships from animosity and confrontation to mutual esteem and cooperation.
Training in conflict resolution will support the efforts of community leaders for reconciliation,
and lay a basis for a national capacity to detect, preempt and defuse future tensions and latent
conflict situations. Peace education and promotion of respect for human rights will also be
required. The project will also help in building up a fabric of local and international NGO

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34 Religion and Conflict

support for the peace process. I

and humanitarian relief, and i
sustainable social recovery and hu
scattered peace services in the f
a mini-seminar to prepare the w
(GAPS).
Although, to a great extent,
peace-making, field-diplomacy
First, field diplomacy requires
to help to transform the conflict
a trustbank or a network of peop
insight into the concerns of the
prevent destructive action.
Second, a serious engagement
week or a couple of months, it
could be depicted as a long and
Third, field diplomacy favor
conflict could be located at thr
and the representatives of the
of the people. Since they have
peace-making, peace-keeping an
Fourth, field diplomats believe
the outside. They favor the el
diplomacy is to identify the pe
is to catalyze and facilitate the
experience for all the people co
Fifth, field diplomats have a
sustainable peace demands not o
also a reconcilation of the past an

Sixth, field diplomacy focuse

conflict. Most peace efforts fo
and national peace conferences
to take care of the deepers layers
the emotional and spiritual leve
distrust in trust ; hatred in love.
have a long way to go.
Seventh, another characterist
interdependence of apparently di
distinction between internal and
different conflicts in space and t
country or the region, but also

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 Luc Reychler 35

uprooted if not eno

present. There is als
Eighth, field diplom
process.

Religious Peace-making: Strenghts and Weaknesses

1. Strengths

Several factors endow religions and religious organizations with a great and under-utilized
potential for constructive conflict management.
First, more than two thirds of the world population belongs to a religion. In 1992, 29.2%
of the religious constituency was Christian; 17.9% Muslim; 13% Hindu; 5.7% Buddhist/Shintoist;
0.7% Confucianism/Taoist. Together, all those religious organizations have a huge infrastructure
with a communication network reaching to all corners of the world. They have a great
responsibility and leadership is expected from them.
Second, religious organizations have the capacity to mobilize people and to cultivate
attitudes of forgiveness, conciliation. They can do a great deal to prevent dehumanization. They
have the capacity to motivate and mobilize people for a more peaceful world. Religious and
humanitarian values are one of the main roots of voluntarism in all countries: doing something
for someone else without expecting to be paid for it. They are problem-solvers. They do not
seek conflict. But when a need is seen, they want to do something about it. They are a force to
be reckoned with (Hoekendijk, 1990).
Third, religious organizations can rely on a set of soft power sources to influence the
peace process. Raven and Rubin (1983) developed a useful taxonomy for understanding the
different bases of power. It asserts that six different sources of power exist for influencing
another's behavior: reward, coercion, expertise, legitimacy, reference, and information.
Reward power is used when the influencer offers some positive benefits (of a tangible or
intangible nature) in exchange for compliance. If reward power relies on the use of promises,
coercive power relies on the language of threat. Expert power relies for its effectiveness on the
influencers' ability to create the impression of being in possession of information or expertise that
justifies a particular request. Legitimate power requires the influencer to persuade others on the
basis of having the right to make a request. Referent power builds on the relationships thät exist
between the influencer and recipient. The influencer counts on the fact that the recipient, in
some ways, values his or her relationship with the source of influence. Finally, informational
power works because of the content of the information conveyed.
To mediate, religious organizations can rely on several sources of power. There could
be the referent power that stems from the mediation position of a large and influential religious
family. Closely related could be legitimate power or the claim to moral rectitude, the right to
assert its views about the appropriateness and acceptability of behavior. Religious leaders could

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 36 Religion and Conflict

refer to their spiritual powe

informational power derived th
use expertise power on the basi
Fourth, religious organizat
organizations have reward powe
by granting personal audience
to protest certain policies. Th
electoral backlash for the adm
population conference in Cair
on such relationships as respect
Fifth, there is a growing nee
actors can fulfill tasks for w
provide information not re
environment in which parties c
attracting charges of appeaseme
as if they were seeking peace
monitor the conflict dynamics,
proposals and agreements.
Sixth, most can make use of
Finally, there is the fact that r
the above peace services.

2. Weaknesses

Several weaknesses limit the impact of religious organizations in building a world safe
for conflict. Several religious organizations are still perpetrators of different kinds of violence.
In many of today's conflicts they remain primary or secondary actors or behave as passiv
bystanders.
Also inhibiting religious peace-making efforts is the fact that, as third parties, religious
organizations tend to be reactieve players. They seem to respond better to humanitarian relie
efforts after a conflict has escalated than to potential violence. A third weakness is the lack o
effective cooperation between religious organizations. Most of the peace making or peace
building efforts are uncoordinated. Finally, there is a need for more professional expertise in
conflict analysis and management.

Conclusion

Religious organizations have a major impact on inter-communal and international

conflicts. During the Cold War, religious as well as ethnic and nationalist conflicts were
relatively neglected in the study of international relations and peace research. After the implosion

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 Luc Reychler 37

of the communist bl
escalation of religiou
dimension of conflic
religious conflicts; no
no comparative resea
organizations.
The world cannot su
parties in violent conf
Hans Klings' thesis
Representing two thir
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