In the wake of September 11, 2001 religion is often seen as the motivating force behind terrorism and other acts of violence. Religion and Peacebuilding looks beyond headlines concerning violence perpetrated in the name of religion to examine how world religions have also inspired social welfare and peacemaking activism. Leading scholars from the Aboriginal, Hindu, Buddhist, Confucian, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian traditions provide detailed analyses of the spiritual resources for fostering peace within their respective religions. The contributors discuss the formidable obstacles to nonviolent conflict transformation found within sacred texts and living traditions. Case studies of Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Cambodia, and South Africa are also examined as practical applications of spiritual resources for peace.
Author(s): Harold G. Coward, Gordon S. Smith
Series: SUNY Series in Religious Studies
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 352
RELIGION AND PEACEBUILDING......Page 4
CONTENTS......Page 6
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS by Harold Coward and Gordon S. Smith......Page 8
1. A Moment of Opportunity?: The Promise of Religious Peacebuilding in an Era of Religious and Ethnic Conflict by DAVID LITTLE AND SCOTT APPLEBY......Page 10
PART I: Spiritual Resources within Religions for Peacebuilding......Page 34
2. In Search of the White Path: American Indian Peacebuilding by MICHELENE E. PESANTUBBEE......Page 36
3. Hinduism and Peacebuilding by RAJMOHAN GANDHI......Page 54
4. Missed Opportunities: Buddhism and the Ethnic Strife in Sri Lanka and Tibet by EVA K. NEUMAIER......Page 78
5. Confucianism and Peacebuilding by JUDITH A. BERLING......Page 102
6. Judaism and Peacebuilding by MARC GOPIN......Page 120
7. Islam and Peacebuilding: Continuities and Transitions by FREDERICK M. DENNY......Page 138
8. Christianity and Peacebuilding by ANDREA BARTOLI......Page 156
PART II: Case Studies in Religion and Peacebuilding......Page 176
9. Creating Spaces: Interreligious Initiatives for Peace by DIANE D’SOUZA......Page 178
10. Case Studies in Religion and Peacebuilding: Cambodia by CATHERINE MORRIS......Page 200
11. History Unrequited: Religion as Provocateur and Peacemaker in the Bosnian Conflict by DOUGLAS M. JOHNSTON AND JONATHON EASTVOLD......Page 222
12. Truth and Reconciliation: The South Africa Case by H. RUSSEL BOTMAN......Page 252
13. Northern Ireland: Religion and the Peace Process by PATRICK GRANT......Page 270
14. Religious Peacebuilding: From Potential to Action by JUDY CARTER AND GORDON S. SMITH......Page 288
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS......Page 312
A......Page 318
C......Page 319
F......Page 321
I......Page 322
K......Page 323
N......Page 324
P......Page 325
R......Page 326
S......Page 327
W......Page 328
Z......Page 329
