INTRODUCTION
Since time immemorial, political and religious leaders have exploited the unique power of religion to justify violence and to mobilize populations to kill and be killed. Even though the main reasons and issues may not be of religious character, religion plays a significant role at times of conflict especially when different religious systems encounter each other because religion, as a system of beliefs and practices relating to the sacred, and uniting its adherents in a community, has a powerful hold on people's way of thinking, acting and perception of interests (Kadayifci-Orellana 2003: 26).
Then again, religious traditions that are used to legitimize violence and war have also been sources of inspiration for establishing peace and resolving conflicts over the centuries. Still, the field of conflict resolution failed to pay sufficient attention to the critical role religion plays in conflicts until recently. However, in the majority of conflicts today (e.g. Israel-Palestine, India-Pakistan; Sri Lanka; Iraq, Nigeria among others), religion has been employed by political and religious leaders to justify violence, intolerance and hatred. At the same time, religious actors and faith-based organizations (e.g. Quakers, Mennonites, St Egidio Community, Interfaith Mediation Center in Nigeria among others) are becoming more involved in conflict resolution, mediation and interfaith dialogues to transform the conflictual relations between parties (see, e.g. Little 2007).This revival of religiously motivated violent conflicts and mounting involvement of religious actors to resolve them have made it inevitable for the field to take a deeper look into the dynamics of these conflicts and to develop effective approaches to deal with them. It is increasingly becoming evident that to resolve these conflicts effectively and establish a sustainable and long-lasting peace, conflict resolution approaches must take into consideration the religio-cultural traditions of the communities involved.
For that reason, emerging literature in the peace and conflict resolution field is emphasizing the importance of understanding the power of religion to mobilize parties for war or for peace (Abu-Nimer 2003; Appleby 2000; Augsburger 1992; Avruch 1998; Gopin 2000; Johnston 1996; Kadayifci-Orellana 2003; 2006; Sampson 1997; Sampson and Lederach 2000; Smock 1995, 2002) and the role religious actors can play to resolve these conflicts (Abu Nimer and Kadayifci-Orellana 2005; Little 2007; USIP 2001, 2003).This chapter attempts to look into the uncanny relationship between religion and violent conflict. More specifically, this chapter will offer a definition of ethno-religious conflicts and identify some of their characteristics and the unique role religion plays therein, discuss religion both as a source of conflict and a resource for its resolution, explore some of the contributions faith-based actors can make; and consider specific conflict resolution tools that may be employed to resolve them.