Religion and Conflict Analysis
Investigating the role of religion in conflicts and in supporting peace
About the project
A University of Winchester Centre for Religion, Reconciliation and Peace (CRRP) research project. One of the primary areas of focus for CRRP is enhancing our understanding of the role of religion in driving conflict and how it can support effective and sustainable peacebuilding processes. Over recent years, CRRP has been working in a variety of contexts to systematise understandings of the role of religion in conflict and peacebuilding, and to devise a theoretically informed yet practical and accessible framework for peacebuilding practitioners worldwide.
Analysis Guide
In 2017 CRRP Director Mark Owen was invited to co-author a guide with Owen Fraser from the Centre of Security Studies, ETH Zurich. The ‘Religion in Conflict and Peacebuilding Analysis Guide’ was commissioned by the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers, the Salam Institute for Peace and Justice, and the United States Institute for Peace (USIP). It was published in 2018 and is intended as a practical guide on religious peacebuilding for governments, peacebuilding institutions and faith-based organisations around the world. The USIP intends to translate it into several different languages and distribute it globally. Click here to Download the Analysis Guide or summary.
Risk assessment
Professors Mark Owen and Anna King have also recently designed the first risk assessment table focussing specifically on religion in peacebuilding project design and implementation. Download the table and the guidelines here:
- Religion and Peacebuilding Risk Assessment Table 2020
- Religion and Peacebuilding Risk Assessment Table Guidelines 2020
Theoretical framework
The current stage of the project is focussed on designing a theoretical framework that can be applied to peacebuilding case studies, in order to better understand which factors are most instrumental in ensuring that the correct conditions are created for enhancing the impact and effectiveness of religious peacebuilding initiatives.
Research team
Principal Investigator: Prof. Mark Owen, Director of CRRP
Co-Investigator: Prof. Anna King, Professor of Religious Studies and Social Anthropology