Putting Interreligious Peace Together: Insights from Two Years of Research

Interreligious relations remain an important dimension of human coexistence and we currently observe an increase in religiously motivated violence and discrimination. Hence, we need to better understand determinants of interreligious peace.

Rising religious violence makes it imperative to develop strategies to foster and preserve interreligious peace. We examine the role of descriptive and injunctive pro-mixing ingroup norms in explaining interreligious contact and, indirectly, more favorable interreligious attitudes.

While the study of interreligious conflict is a growing field of research, interreligious peace lacks conceptualisation and empirical investigation. This article proposes a concept of interreligious peace that distinguishes between positive and negative elements as well as attitudinal and behavioural aspects.

Prompted by the persistence of violence and hostility, Julia Köbrich pursued the overarching research question: How to maintain and foster interreligious peace? Four empirical chapters each take a different angle to offer answers to this question drawing on data from Togo and Sierra Leone.

People tend to seek out others who are like them. This preference for similarity can result in divided societies as people burrow deeper into like-minded groups. So, in the interest of social cohesion and peace, what would encourage people to engage with others across social divides?

This mixed methods paper developed and tested hypotheses on changeable determinants of contact preferences informed by data from Togo and Sierra Leone. Inclusive ideas and knowledge of outgroup practices were associated with weaker, and exclusive ideas with stronger, preferences for similar others.

The success of interreligious peace hinges on the concept of peace. By adopting an expanded concept of peace, we can apply it to interreligious relations. Our approach defines four elements of interreligious peace from the dimensions of negative and positive peace, as well as behavior and attitude.

Muslims and Christians in much of sub-Saharan Africa have a long history of religious tolerance. Sierra Leone in particular stands out as a positive example.

Sometimes, people belonging to different religions do not get along well. In 2022 we travelled to Sierra Leone and Togo where interreligious relations were very peaceful. This comic depicts some examples of how to make interreligious peace: celebrating together, collaborating, being friends, and respecting each other despite differences.

In African societies, celebrations of religious diversity exist alongside (violent) religious extremism. What determines whether interreligious relations are peaceful or contentious? What can we learn from positive examples, and what role does religious extremism play in interreligious peace?

Interreligious relations remain an important dimension of human coexistence and we currently observe an increase in religiously motivated violence and discrimination. Hence, we need to better understand determinants of interreligious peace.

Rising religious violence makes it imperative to develop strategies to foster and preserve interreligious peace. We examine the role of descriptive and injunctive pro-mixing ingroup norms in explaining interreligious contact and, indirectly, more favorable interreligious attitudes.

While the study of interreligious conflict is a growing field of research, interreligious peace lacks conceptualisation and empirical investigation. This article proposes a concept of interreligious peace that distinguishes between positive and negative elements as well as attitudinal and behavioural aspects.