Religion in der Friedens- und Konfliktforschung

Since the end of the Cold War, research into war and peace has taken an increasingly keen interest in religion. What form would a concept of religion suitable for these fields of research assume? With regard to religions’ potential to create peace or incite violence for example, what would a specific religious experience involve? What turns the foundation of peace into the religious foundation of peace? What is the relationship between each particular religious dimension and how important are non-religious elements in comparison? Can religion be considered and analysed as a separate phenomenon or must religion be seen in terms of the wider concepts of culture or civilisation?

This book endeavours to answer these questions from an interdisciplinary perspective, particularly with regard to political science, (religious) sociology and theology, and its reflections on the concept of religion aim at defining the role of religion in conflicts more precisely and at making it more tangible. All the contributions in the book share an awareness of an empirically resilient concept of religion and, in doing so, they also distinguish themselves from general theological or philosophical approaches.