The Value of Religious Peacemaking

In Chapter 4 of R. Scott Appleby's The Ambivalence of the Sacred, he looks at case studies where "militants for peace", religious actors strongly devoted to non-violence, have made a difference in peacemaking efforts. After spending most of the course examining religious violent actors, learning about religious non-violent actors has been a nice change. These religious peacemakers help to reframe the conflict from a conflict between one ethnic or religious group that is "good" and another "evil" into a conflict between those who seek peace and those who continue to use deadly violence. These "enemies" are to be fought with the moral voice and peaceful teachings of a religious tradition.

Throughout the semester, we've read about religious violence in many forms and remarked that these conflicts are shaped by myriad situational factors. The same can be said for religious peacemaking, which takes on as many forms as there are conflicts: Ghosananda's marches in Cambodia, the Mennonite Central Committee, the Alexandria Process, the Community of Sant'Egidio, all of these groups have used different methods to advocate for peace. What they have in common is their emphasis on the peaceful teachings of their religions and their sense of "mission" or "moral obligation" to devote themselves to working for peace.

I found the case of the Community of Sant'Egidio especially inspiring. To think that a small group of high school students who wanted to serve the poor and "Love thy enemy" could blossom into an international community of thousands negotiating for peace on the basis of unconditional friendship! This kind of success required a great deal of commitment and integrity from its members, and even then it was by no means the only factor in promoting peace. It was, however, a useful non-political catalyst that helped bring moral values and shared humanity into the conversation.

In order for a religious peacemaking group to be effective in the long term, Appleby says that that they must "span a spectrum of actors at different levels of society, all of whom are working in collaboration for the nonviolent resolution of conflict and the building of stable political structures and social relations" (122). That's quite a tall order, but some groups, like the Community of Sant'Egidio, the Mennonite Central Committee, and others, are working hard to make it possible. When religious peacemakers cooperate with other secular (governmental and non-governmental) peacemaking groups, their committment to moral values can help give the peacemaking efforts real strength. It seems fitting to me that the religion which was part of the problem also be part of the solution.