Peace, Politics, Peace, and Religion • JeffreyHaynes Peace, Politics, and Religion Edited by Jeffrey Haynes Printed Edition of the Special Issue Published in Religions www.mdpi.com/journal/religions Peace, Politics, and Religion Peace, Politics, and Religion Editor Jeffrey Haynes MDPI • Basel • Beijing • Wuhan • Barcelona • Belgrade • Manchester • Tokyo • Cluj • Tianjin Editor Jeffrey Haynes London Metropolitan University UK Editorial Office MDPI St. Alban-Anlage 66 4052 Basel, Switzerland This is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue published online in the open access journal Religions (ISSN 2077-1444) (available at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special issues/ Politics Religion). For citation purposes, cite each article independently as indicated on the article page online and as indicated below: LastName, A.A.; LastName, B.B.; LastName, C.C. Article Title. Journal Name Year, Article Number, Page Range. ISBN 978-3-03936-664-4 (Hbk) ISBN 978-3-03936-665-1 (PDF) c 2020 by the authors. Articles in this book are Open Access and distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. The book as a whole is distributed by MDPI under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND. Contents About the Editor .............................................. vii Jeffrey Haynes Introductory Thoughts about Peace, Politics and Religion Reprinted from: Religions 2020, 11, 242, doi:10.3390/rel11050242 ................... 1 Michał Gierycz Religion: A Source of Fundamentalism or A Safeguard Against It? Reprinted from: Religions 2020, 11, 104, doi:10.3390/rel11030104 ................... 9 Laura Payne What Can Faith-Based Forms of Violent Conflict Prevention Teach Us About Liberal Peace? Reprinted from: Religions 2020, 11, 167, doi:10.3390/rel11040167 ................... 29 Christine Schliesser Religion and Peace—Anatomy of a Love–Hate Relationship Reprinted from: Religions 2020, 11, 219, doi:10.3390/rel11050219 ................... 45 Joanna Kulska Religious Engagement and the Migration Issue: Towards Reconciling Political and Moral Duty Reprinted from: Religions 2020, 11, 236, doi:10.3390/rel11050236 ................... 57 Peter Friedlander Reassessing Religion and Politics in the Life of Jagjivan Ram¯ Reprinted from: Religions 2020, 11, 224, doi:10.3390/rel11050224 ................... 77 Netta van Vliet Israelijew Jewisraeli: Yoram Kaniuk’s Adam Resurrected and the Problem of the Human Reprinted from: Religions 2020, 11, 157, doi:10.3390/rel11040157 ................... 95 Joram Tarusarira When Piety Is Not Enough: Religio-Political Organizations in Pursuit of Peace and Reconciliation in Zimbabwe Reprinted from: Religions 2020, 11, 235, doi:10.3390/rel11050235 ...................111 Bekithemba Dube ‘Go and Prophesy in Your Own Land’: Foreign Prophets and Popularism in South Africa. Evoking the Need of Jonathanic Theology for Peaceful Resolution of Difference Reprinted from: Religions 2020, 11, 42, doi:10.3390/rel11010042 ....................127 Kangdim Dingji Maza, Umut Koldas and Sait Aksit Challenges of Countering Terrorist Recruitment in the Lake Chad Region: The Case of Boko Haram Reprinted from: Religions 2020, 11, 96, doi:10.3390/rel11020096 ....................139 Dino Krause, Isak Svensson and Goran¨ Larsson Why Is There So Little Shia–Sunni Dialogue? Understanding the Deficit of Intra-Muslim Dialogue and Interreligious Peacemaking Reprinted from: Religions 2019, 10, 567, doi:10.3390/rel10100567 ...................165 v Xabier It¸caina Catholic Mediation in the Basque Peace Process: Questioning the Transnational Dimension Reprinted from: Religions 2020, 11, 216, doi:10.3390/rel11050216 ...................183 Lee Marsden International Religious Freedom Promotion and US Foreign Policy Reprinted from: Religions 2020, 11, 260, doi:10.3390/rel11050260 ...................199 vi About the Editor Jeffrey Haynes is professor emeritus of Politics at London Metropolitan University. Among his recent publications are: Religion, Conflict and Post-Secular Politics, London, Routledge, 2020, and The Routledge Handbook to Religion and Political Parties (ed.), London: Routledge, 2020. vii religions Editorial Introductory Thoughts about Peace, Politics and Religion Jeffrey Haynes School of Social Sciences, London Metropolitan University, London N7 8DB, UK; [email protected] Received: 23 April 2020; Accepted: 5 May 2020; Published: 13 May 2020 Abstract: Recent years have seen a growing literature on the interactions between peace, politics and religion, including their diverse and often complex relationships. Underpinning this literature is an increase, more generally, in scholarly and policy interest in connections between religion and politics. The context is that over the last three decades, religion has made a remarkable return to prominence in various academic literatures, including sociology, political science and international relations. This was a surprise to many social scientists and confounded the expectations of both secularization theorists and secularists. In addition, religion retained a strong, some say growing, significance as a core source of identity for billions of people around the world. Numerous religious leaders and faith-based organizations are important carriers and focal points of religious ideas, playing an important role in many countries, both developed and developing, as well as internationally, including at the United Nations and to a lesser, although still notable extent, in the European Union and other regional organizations. This introductory article examines interactions between religious entities in relation to peace and conflict and sets the scene for the articles comprising this volume. Keywords: peace; politics; conflict; religion; faith; faith-based organizations Recent years have seen a growing literature on the interactions between peace, politics and religion, including their diverse and often complex relationships. Underpinning this literature is an increase, more generally, in scholarly and policy interest in connections between religion and politics. Sind the 1980s, there has been renewed scholarly interest in the social sciences regarding how religion affects outcomes in the discipline’s various sub-disciplines, including the study of politics. Many social scientists were very surprised by this development; most at this time were adherents of the secularization thesis. This maintained that as societies modernized they would inevitably secularize. Things turned out differently: instead, religion has retained a strong, some say growing, significance as a core source of identity for billions of people around the world. In addition, numerous religious individuals and faith-based organizations (FBOs) are important carriers and focal points of religious ideas. They play an important role not only in numerous countries around the world, but also in some of the world’s major international organizations, including the United Nations, the European Union and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Why does social science now pay more attention to what religion does in terms of outcomes? It is often suggested that religion has an important, sometimes pivotal role, in conflict. Religion can either be a cause of conflict, or a key component in helping resolve conflict. In addition, once religion has established a key role in ending conflict, it may then pay a role in helping build sustained peace. That being said, it is certainly the case that when someone is asked how they regard the role of religion in various aspects of conflict, then many would suggest that it is noteable primarily for causing or exacerbating conflict, not helping resolve it. In this respect, there is much empirical evidence amassed over the last few decades to substantiate the notion that religion is more the problem than the solution to many of the world’s more enduring conflicts, both within countries and between them. In the West, for example, religious hatred characterized the recently quelled conflict in Northern Ireland, while in the USA, culture wars between religionists and secularists have widened and deepening during Religions 2020, 11, 242; doi:10.3390/rel110502421 www.mdpi.com/journal/religions Religions 2020, 11, 242 the controversial presidency of Donald Trump. On the other hand, there is growing evidence that religious leaders and FBOs can, if so minded, play highly constructive roles in helping end societal violence and interstate conflicts. How might they do this? They can alert their followers and others to the dangers that an emerging conflict poses for societal harmony, they can do their best to help resolve conflicts when the have begun, and they can be advocates for peace and conflict resolution. They can offer to be mediators between conflicting parties and can seek to bring them together once peace is won. In short, contemporary discussions about the relationship between peace, politics and religion necessarily highlight that religion can both encourage conflict and peace, through the activities of people individually and collectively, imbued with faith-based ideas and ideals. Given the often-messy nature of religiously-informed conflict, it is no surprise that we do not have a sole, sophisticated theoretical model enabling us to understand clearly all the applicable cases of religion’s