Please, Make Peace! The Religious Determinants of Positive and Negative Peace

• In Event: The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Empirical Studies on Religion, Conflict, and Peace

Abstract

To what extent does religion foster peace? Scholars have been studying the role of religion for peace for decades. Yet, much uncertainty remains about how to conceptualize let alone empirically assess the interplay between religion and peace. This study goes beyond mainstream analyses that only focus on negative peace as the absence of armed conflict and physical violence. We develop a broader, multifaceted understanding of negative peace and conceptualize positive peace as the presence of cooperation, mutual respect, and trust. Building on these new conceptualizations, we compare the religious determinants of negative and positive peace. What aspects of religion are most relevant for negative peace and which ones are crucial for positive peace? Drawing on a newly compiled global dataset that includes multiple indicators for the various dimensions of religion and peace, we produce in-depth and differentiated empirical results. We measure negative peace through indicators such as battle related deaths and perceptions of threat, but also positive peace through data on social trust and peaceful intergroup relations. We find that the religious determinants for negative peace and positive peace only partly overlap. We argue that negative and positive peace constitute two aspects of peace that both need to be taken into account. Further, we hold that the study of religion and peace has to disaggregate different aspects of religion and peace while continuing to push for robust empirical results in order to better understand this complex relationship. Policy makers are well advised to take the multifaceted nature of religion and peace into account when trying to foster sustainable long-lasting peace.

Authors

• Lisa Hoffmann, German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA)

• Julia Köbrich, German Institute for Global and Area Studies

• Eric Stollenwerk, German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA)