RELIGION AS THIRD SIDE

Given the widespread and persistent appeal of religion, the diversity of spiritual traditions across the human experience, and the powerful influence of faith in peo­ple’s lives, religion and conflict can hardly avoid one another.

What is the third side? In Ury’s words, it is “the surrounding community, which serves as a container for any escalating conflict” (Ury, 1999, p. 7). A traditional conflict resolution model presents conflict as a clash of positions, interests, or needs between two (or sometimes more) parties who must find a means of resolving the dispute, ideally on their own but perhaps with the help of some outside interven­tion. Incorporating the “third side” broadens the lens on the conflict to include not just the parties directly involved, but also the broader community surrounding the conflict. It takes individual disputes out of a vacuum and places them back in the societies and communities in which they occur, where a wide range of psy­chological, political, economic, social, and cultural dynamics are at play. Within the community surrounding a conflict exist a wide range of potential actors and resources that can, when mobilized effectively, become a positive third force in the dispute, a force that can help reduce suffering, push the parties toward peace, and reweave the social fabric.

Of course, not all parts of the community that surrounds a conflict situa­tion are always motivated toward such positive ends. Some individuals or aspects of the surrounding community, including religious elements, will be indifferent or actively seek to escalate the conflict for their own gain. How­ever, in most conflicts, the surrounding communities are directly impacted by the violence, and in most cases, the majority of people do at least want peace and many are ready to work for it. It is that pooled energy and activ­ity that creates the third side. The challenge of envisioning and empowering this third side, then, is to find and encourage those resources that are moti­vated toward peace within the surrounding community and context of a con­flict situation and to limit or restrain the impact of negative influences from further inflaming tensions.

In most situations, religion is an important part of the surrounding community, which could—if mobilized and supported externally toward peace—be an active part of a strong third side. We now take a brief look at four ways in which religion exists in the third side and how those dynamics might contribute to the third side: (1) beliefs and values, (2) leaders and their followers, (3) social structures and net­works, and (4) identity.

Religion as Beliefs and Values

Muslim-Christian violence has racked Nigeria in recent years. Thousands of peo­ple have been killed and churches and mosques burnt to the ground. In the midst of ongoing tensions between their communities, two Nigerian religious leaders are using the values of their faith traditions to help replace interfaith conflict with interfaith cooperation. As youths, Mohammed Ashafa and James Wuye were personally involved in and affected by Christian-Muslim violence in their communities. Ashafa lost a beloved mentor and family member, and Wuye lost one of his arms in the fighting. As they each became youth leaders in their communities, the two men developed a deeper understanding of the teachings of their religious traditions. Separately, they underwent their own personal trans­formations away from violence and began spreading the teachings of tolerance, respect, compassion, and peacemaking found within each of their traditions. Convinced that the core teachings of both Christianity and Islam share common values that can serve as a foundation for interfaith peace, Imam Ashafa and Pastor Wuye began an interfaith dialogue initiative and wrote a book together, which utilizes seventy verses from the Bible and seventy verses from the Qur’an to teach respect, tolerance, compassion, and cooperation between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria. Emphasizing these religious values, they have brought thousands of Muslim and Christian youth together in workshops to learn about each others’ faith traditions, engage in interfaith dialogue, and work together to reconstruct mosques and churches destroyed by interreligious violence.

Ashafa and Wuye’s use of scripture as a basis for their interfaith peace­building work, as well as their own personal transformations, demonstrate one way in which religion can function as part of what Ury describes as “inner” third side: “The [inner] third side manifests itself as a kind of conscience within the single individual engaged in conflict. It is the voice that urges us to heal old grievances; it is the capacity to listen to the other side and show empathy; it is the impulse to respect the basic human needs of all” (Ury, 1999, p. 21).

Religion is most often discussed in terms of beliefs and values, doctrines and dogma. The spiritual teachings of a faith tradition provide a narrative that helps believers make sense of the world and locate themselves in it. Reli­gious values set guidelines for one’s own behavior and treatment of others. Religious doctrine can lay out rules for managing human relations and even specific instructions for what to do when conflicts arise. While religious teachings on issues of war and peace vary widely across traditions, a num­ber of common values have been recognized across all the world’s major faiths—compassion, love, tolerance, respect for human dignity, sacredness of human life. Despite differences across traditions and with the interpretation of teachings within any particular faith, these shared values form a common ground and have contributed significantly to the development of international human rights standards, ethical norms, humanitarian law, and the philoso­phy and practice of peacemaking.

In addition, every religion includes its own particular teachings that can serve as resources for the peaceful management of conflict. Buddhism emphasizes compassion toward all and nonviolent living. Islam teaches tolerance of other faiths, a commitment to justice, and care for the poor. Christianity has articu­lated clear rules for limiting the use of violence through the just war tradition and lifts up Jesus’ teachings of forgiveness and peacemaking.

Of course, religious leaders and followers do not always focus on or consis­tently live up to the best values and teachings of their faiths. Religious texts include language and teachings that can be, and often are, interpreted in destructive ways, just as they can be interpreted constructively. For example, Christianity’s emphasis on Jesus as savior can help lead people to follow the examples of forgiveness, nonviolence, and social justice demonstrated through the Biblical stories of Jesus’ life. On the other hand, an emphasis that only those who believe in Jesus are saved can lead to rigid in-group/out-group dichotomies and the dehumanization of non-Christians. Jewish theology regarding the idea of a “chosen people” similarly can be used to encourage a high ethical standard for behavior in the world, or as a source of division and dehumanization of the other. Considerable debate is underway within Islam today as varying interpre­tations of teachings on the treatment of non-Muslims, the role of women, and the relationship between government and religion play out in difficult, often painful ways across the global faith community. Ultimately, it is not necessar­ily the words of a sacred text that determine whether religious beliefs and val­ues will promote cooperation or conflict, but how they are interpreted and the hermeneutic employed to explain them—factors that change over time and across social and cultural contexts.

Whether religious beliefs and values are contributing negatively or positively to a conflict situation will be an important indicator as to whether and how reli­gion might be part of a positive third side. Questions worth considering in try­ing to understand the role of religious beliefs and values in particular conflict situations include:

• What are the most salient religious traditions or belief systems at work in the society or community? What is the history of religious teachings in the community?

• How overtly are religious values and teachings expressed by those involved in the conflict and in the surrounding community? Even if not overtly expressed, how do beliefs and values appear to influence the decisions and behavior of those in the conflict, of the surrounding community?

• Does the conflict include a religious or spiritual narrative? Are there specific religious teachings or narratives that are particularly relevant to the conflict? If so, do they serve to escalate or mitigate the conflict?

• What religious values and beliefs respected in the society encourage more constructive conflict management? Are there religious narratives or teachings that might help build bridges between the parties, move them away from violence, or provide a framework for peaceful settlement?

Religion as Leaders and Followers

While Ghandi, King, Tutu, and the Dalai Lama are well known for their instru­mental roles in nonviolent struggles against oppression, countless other religious leaders throughout history and today have stood courageously against injustice and for a more peaceful world.

Khan’s authority with the Pathan people stemmed from his own courageous witness and strong leadership skills, but perhaps more importantly from his religious standing in the community. Khan used his moral authority as a respected Muslim leader to call on others to reject violence and engage in active nonviolence in the face of oppression and conflict. His followers formed a large movement that could intervene to help prevent violence and protect lives. In this way, he helped develop an active third side in the Peshawar valley.

Religious leaders can strengthen a third side for peace in conflict situations by using their moral authority within the community to help lead others away from violence and toward constructive conflict management. As respected voices in the community, they can lift up spiritual teachings that draw on the best of their own faith tradition, and reach out to faith leaders in other com­munities to strengthen ties between groups and counter interreligious violence. They can often serve as social and political motivators to wide constituencies throughout a society-constituencies with which they share a language, culture, and social reality. They can help mobilize their followers to more actively engage in peacemaking activities, while also representing grassroots concerns to governing authorities-acting as a bridge between decision makers and the broader community (Lederach, 1997). As respected leaders and people of faith, they can also engage in advocacy that may be risky to help address injustices and other root causes of conflict. In addition, religious leaders are often part of transnational faith networks, which include resources outside the context of the conflict that can be drawn on for constructive interventions-what might be called an “outer third side.”

To better understand the role of religious leaders and their followers when examining conflict situations and exploring potential resources for resolution, we might ask:

• Who are the prominent religious leaders in the community or society? Who are their followers? Are religious leaders or their followers actively engaged in the conflict or efforts to resolve it? If so, how?

• Are there particular leaders within the conflict using religion to fuel violence and division? If so, how? Who is their audience?

• How might religious leaders and faith communities help counter or limit the negative use of religion in the conflict? How might they contribute to more peaceful management or resolution of the situation?

• What external or transnational resources do local religious leaders and communities have access to or need that might contribute positively to helping mitigate and resolve the conflict?

Religion as Social Institutions and Networks

In Buddhism, the sangha, or community, is one of the three jewels of faith, a crit­ical element along with Buddha (enlightenment) and dharma (doctrine or truth). The sangha, whether monastic or the broader Buddhist lay community, plays important roles both in the spiritual life of individual Buddhists and in the social and political life of Buddhist societies. During the brutal regime of Pol Pot in Cambodia and during the war in Vietnam, the Buddhist sangha, represented through monasteries, temples, community organizations, and national networks— was often targeted because of its powerful social organizing role and the peaceful resistance it promoted among its members. In Cambodia and Vietnam, Buddhism expressed through its institutions and social structures, became a force of resis­tance to the war and violence raging throughout the country. The sangha, though impacted heavily by the conflict, represented a social space that sought to transcend divisions and violence in the country. Thousands of monks and lay Buddhists sought refuge in the sangha and resisted the war through personal witness and acts of civil disobedience. In addition, Buddhist networks helped maintain family and community ties across the lines of conflict and provided a link outside the country to the international community. Buddhists resisting the war in Vietnam connected with Buddhist and other civil society groups in the United States to undertake humanitarian and antiwar campaigns. Buddhists in Cambodia embarked on long peace marches that drew international attention and mobilized people across the country. In the aftermath of the wars in Vietnam and Cambodia, as state structures had to be rebuilt and transformed, Buddhist organizations stepped in to lead economic and social reconstruction programs. In the absence of functioning government and social services, the Buddhist sangha organized to pro­vide humanitarian aid, educate children, support community development, reunite families, care for widows and orphans, and create opportunities for reconciliation and healing to rebuild their societies. These efforts helped reweave social networks destroyed by the war, revive local economies, and build a community base for last­ing peace between former enemies. In this way, religion as a set of social institu­tions and networks surrounding a conflict can be part of and help mobilize a strong third side for peace.

While churches, mosques, and temples have periodically been the site of vio­lence during conflicts, more often they have provided refuge and become sites for humanitarian efforts and peacemaking initiatives. Faith communities provide an established network for mobilizing civil society to respond to conflict—networks that often may cross the lines of the dispute and create opportunities for bridging divisions. In most conflict situations, local religious groups will have an awareness of the dispute early on as it affects the communities they serve. Religious networks may provide early warnings of escalating conflict to warn others of danger, and extend regionally and internationally to help mobilize outside attention and resources. They are also often some of the first responders to crises, working to help those affected by the conflict and mobilize others in the community to respond. Religious organizations also often play an important advocacy role, bringing moral arguments into public policy debates and speaking out for under­represented or underserved groups (for example, poor, immigrant, and marginal­ized communities).

In many ways, religion as a social organizer is even more durable as part of the third side than the state, giving it significant lasting power throughout con­flicts. Religion helped organize society through its institutions and structures long before the rise of the nation state, and it continues to be a powerful force for organizing communities within and across nations. During conflicts, partic­ularly where divisions are drawn on faith lines, religious institutions are often directly impacted and challenged to respond in some way. When conflict leads to the breakdown or collapse of the state and civic organizations, often religious structures and networks survive, becoming important arenas within the third side for reconstruction and reconciliation efforts.

Like other ways in which religion functions in society, religious institutions and networks can and have been used for ill as well as good. Thus, understand­ing their role in particular situations is important. Questions to consider include:

• What religious institutions, organizations, and social structures operate actively within the community or society? What parts of the population do they serve or engage?

• Are there particular faith-based organizations and institutions that relate directly to the conflict, the parties involved, or their political agendas? Are their religious institutions and structures directly impacted by the conflict?

• If certain religious institutions and faith-based groups are directly involved in contributing to the conflict in some way, what is their role and how might their impact be mitigated or reduced?

• Are there faith-based organizations or religious institutions already engaged, or that might be tapped, in peacemaking and conflict resolu­tion initiatives? What roles are they playing? How might their efforts be supported, strengthened, or expanded?

Religion as Identity

Perhaps nowhere are the connections between religion, identity, and conflict more volatile than in the Middle East. The lines between Jews, Muslims, and Christians are drawn deeply in societies in the region and who you are is very much defined by your religious group. Religious narratives tell the history of the region, its land and peoples, and create a frame for explaining where one fits in the world and in relation to ongoing conflicts in the region. National and reli­gious identities overlap, feed into each other, and sometimes conflict. Mixing with those of other faiths can be difficult, shunned, even dangerous. It is diffi­cult to escape religion in defining identity in the Middle East, and perhaps more difficult to express religious identity in ways that bridge rather than deepen the divides. Yet, in the midst of ongoing violence, interfaith dialogue efforts between Jews, Muslims, and Christians have continued. Mohammed Abu-Nimer, a con­flict resolution scholar and practitioner who leads interfaith dialogue in the Mid­dle East, has noted that often the experience of interfaith dialogue is not as much about learning and understanding others’ religious traditions as it is about deepening the exploration of one’s own faith. Through interfaith dialogue, indi­viduals gain a deeper understanding of their own religious identity and how it shapes their world view and behavior toward others. Respect and tolerance grows for people of different traditions as personal relationships develop and barriers of misunderstanding are broken down.

Religious identity forms from a mixture of beliefs and values, the influence of leaders and sense of belonging to a community, and one’s membership or relationship to religious institutions and networks. It thus intersects with the other three ways in which religion functions in the third side and includes both “inner” and “outer” third side influences. Religion is only one identity factor that contributes to a sense of self and helps define individuals and groups in society; however, it can be a particularly powerful influence in moving people toward or away from violent conflict. Because religion provides answers to the most fundamental questions of life for many people, religious identity can often overcome other identity factors in making difficult decisions. Religious identity can also draw the most extreme lines between in- and out-groups: sacred and profane, human and divine, saved and unsaved, good and evil. Because it can pose such stark divisions, it does have a high potential for contributing to the formation of what Herb Kelman calls zero-sum identities: collective identi­ties that rely on the negation of other groups to increase their own validity and that present particular challenges to conflict resolution efforts (1987). Lines of religious identity are unfortunately often exploited by those engaged in conflict because they can be so powerful.

Religious identity can, however, take a different form. When being faithful means extending compassion, respect, tolerance, and justice to others, one’s religious identity can lead people to actively contribute to preventing violence and building peace. When religious diversity is respected and celebrated as something that strengthens rather than threatens one’s own faith experience, religious identity becomes not a zero-sum force but an opening for shared understanding and cooperation. Religious identity can also provide an access point for connecting with parties in conflict to build trust and open dialogue. In this sense religious identity can contribute to what has been called faith-based diplomacy: conflict resolution strategies that integrate faith into diplomacy and seek to tap into religious identities as tools for promoting peace and reconcili­ation (Johnston, 2003).

Including an examination of religious identity within conflict analysis can help make sense of underlying dynamics beyond rational-based needs and interests that may be driving a conflict and can suggest unique avenues for engaging peo­ple toward more constructive ends. Questions to consider in conflict situations include:

• How religious is the society? Is religious identity a significant factor in personal sense of self and group belonging for those engaged in the conflict? For the surrounding community?

• Is the conflict drawn along lines of religious identity? Are all religious groups in the society involved, or are there groups that are outliers or somehow bridge the divisions? Are there divisions along other identity lines as well? How do the different identity factors relate to each other and to the conflict?

• How does religious identity relate to the root causes of the conflict? How should these religious identity factors be taken into account in developing conflict resolution strategies?

• Are there shared religious identities that bridge the groups in conflict? How might shared group identities be tapped in the service of peaceful resolution of the conflict?

These questions regarding religious identity, combined with the earlier questions on religious beliefs and values, leaders and followers, social insti­tutions and networks, offer a basic starting point for incorporating religion into conflict and conflict resolution analysis. They are presented together here as a framework for analysis that might be used by peace practitioners, policy­makers, and students of conflict resolution when seeking to understand the role of religion in particular conflicts and the potential for faith-based peace­making. Such questions might be incorporated into a broader conflict analy­sis and used when working to develop constructive conflict prevention or response policies or programs that can support or strengthen the third side. While only a beginning, by more systematically asking such questions, we may help bring to light both negative and positive roles religion is playing in conflict situations and provoke deeper analysis into ways of reducing the destructive influences and enhancing the constructive third side potential of religion. Asking such questions may help identify key religious actors that could be supported or engaged in peacemaking activities with resources and technical support. It may help those engaged in government or secular peace­making efforts better understand potential obstacles they might face and opportunities they may have overlooked. It might also suggest whether faith­based diplomacy would be worthwhile and help identify the potential prob­lems that might arise from such efforts. Ultimately, finding practical ways of integrating religion more effectively into our analysis and conflict resolution efforts will lay the basis for developing stronger theory to help explain the role of religious dynamics and more successful practice to support the peace­ful prevention, management, and resolution of conflicts.

Integrating Religion into Conflict Resolution Theory and Practice: Developing a Framework for Analysis and Action

Religion can play both positive and negative roles in situations of conflict. The following questions provide a starting point for better understanding religion’s role in any particular context, mitigating against the destructive manipulation of religion, and empowering constructive faith resources to peacefully manage and resolve disputes. This framework for analysis is offered as an initial reference point to be adapted and expanded as it is applied to particular situations.

I. Religion as Beliefs and Values

• What are the most salient religious traditions or belief systems at work in the society or community? What is the history of religious teachings in the community?

• How overtly are religious values and teachings expressed by those involved in the conflict and in the surrounding community? Even if not overtly expressed, how do beliefs and values appear to influence the decisions and behavior of those in the conflict, of the surround­ing community?

• Does the conflict include a religious or spiritual narrative? Are there specific religious teachings or narratives that are particularly relevant to the conflict? If so, do they serve to escalate or mitigate the conflict?

• What religious values and beliefs respected in the society encourage more constructive conflict management? Are there religious narratives or teachings that might help build bridges between the parties, move them away from violence, or provide a framework for peaceful settlement?

II. Religion as Leaders and Followers

• Who are the prominent religious leaders in the community or society? Who are their followers? Are religious leaders or their followers actively engaged in the conflict or efforts to resolve it? If so, how?

• Are there particular leaders within the conflict using religion to fuel violence and division? If so, how? Who is their audience?

• How might religious leaders and faith communities help counter or limit the negative use of religion in the conflict? How might they contribute to more peaceful management or resolution of the situation?

• What external or transnational resources do local religious leaders and communities have access to or need that might contribute positively to helping mitigate and resolve the conflict?

III. Religion as Social Institution and Networks

• What religious institutions, organizations, and social structures operate actively within the community or society? What parts of the population do they serve or engage?

• Are there particular faith-based organizations and institutions that relate directly to the conflict, the parties involved, or their political agendas? Are their religious institutions and structures directly impacted by the conflict?

• If certain religious institutions and faith-based groups are directly involved in contributing to the conflict in some way, what is their role and how might their impact be mitigated or reduced?

• Are there faith-based organizations or religious institutions already engaged, or that might be tapped, in peacemaking and conflict reso­lution initiatives? What roles are they playing? How might their efforts be supported, strengthened, or expanded?

IV. Religion as Identity

• How religious is the society? Is religious identity a significant fac­tor in personal sense of self and group belonging for those engaged in the conflict? For the surrounding community?

• Is the conflict drawn along lines of religious identity? Are all reli­gious groups in the society involved, or are there groups that are outliers or somehow bridge the divisions? Are there divisions along other identity lines as well? How do the different identity factors relate to each other and to the conflict?

• How does religious identity relate to the root causes of the conflict? How should these religious identity factors be taken into account in developing conflict resolution strategies?

• Are there shared religious identities that bridge the groups in con­flict? How might shared group identities be tapped in the service of peaceful resolution of the conflict?