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Religions and Conflicts. Towards a Framework for Analysis

Feron, Elise (2008) Religions and Conflicts. Towards a Framework for Analysis. Arès, 23 (1). pp. 37-55. ISSN 0181-009X. (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:32927)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.

Abstract

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).

Item Type: Article
Subjects: J Political Science > JZ International relations
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Politics and International Relations
Depositing User: Elise Feron
Date Deposited: 12 Jan 2013 12:42 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:10 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/32927 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Feron, Elise.

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