Religions and Conflicts. Towards a Framework for Analysis

Since 1945, religions, and religious differences, are amongst the most common factors of internal or internationalized conflicts. This has generated the idea that conflicts with a strong religious dimension were necessarily more savage, brutal and backward than others. However, research shows that religion can also be inimical to nationalism and conflict, and that it can be used as a soothing element in deteriorating situations or peace processes. In this perspective, this article shows that the impact of religions on conflicts is the result of the interplay between a doctrinal content (which can itself be further disaggregated into what the founding texts say, how religious authorities interpret them in the light of the current context, and how these interpretations are understood and translated at the grassroots level), the sociological dimension of Churches (their status in society, their attitude towards worldly matters and their internal divisions), and the evolution of the context in which they are embedded (in particular the changes that are likely to affect their position in a given society).