RELI 113 - Religion, Violence, and Peacebuilding

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

Modern theorists and observers have frequently identified “religion” as a primary motivating factor for violence, or as a special mechanism for justifying violence. This line of argument has persisted in the face of an era of wars and interpersonal violence perpetrated and justified by secular and non-religious forces as well as by theocratic states and religious individuals or movements. Nonviolent resisters and peacebuilders have likewise drawn on religious traditions and practices, even as those same traditions are also mobilized in support of violence and repression. This class approaches the interconnections between religion, violence, and peacebuilding from multiple angles. We consider domestic violence as well as mass atrocities, and study conflict resolution strategies as well as radical nonresistance as ethical witness. Our focus is on cases from the 20th and 21st centuries, from a wide range of global contexts. In the process, students are introduced to the multidisciplinary social-scientific study of religion, bringing together ethnographic observation, social theory, textual interpretation, political and intellectual history, and practical ethics. Kirsten Wesselhoeft.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS