Peacebuilding is often viewed from the contexts of war and conflict rather than along the lines of sustaining existing peace initiatives hence making it a complex subject. To extensively understand the concept of peace, in his article, “Life without War,” Fry discusses deeper about peace systems and compares inter-societal peace based on experiences from a selected few sample societies in Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia and India among others. He went on to note that war is something new that only began happening in different societies around 10,000 years ago as a result of citizens feeling the need to claim individual territories.
He also suggested that most societies are likely to promote peace if individuals are aware of what it means to be peaceful and how to sustain peacebuilding initiatives11. Some of the important elements he mentions that contribute to the maintenance of peace include but are not limited to the need to: establish a social identity, fostering interconnections among groups as well as symbols and rituals that reinforce peace.
In the African context, religion is largely practised and is considered a fundamental element and basis of identity for most Africans, although it’s slowly fading away in western countries. For instance, Catholic journalist Damian Thompson speculated that “Anglicanism will disappear from Britain in 2033”. He cited the Social Attitudes surveys, which indicated that there had been a decrease from 40% of the population in 1983 to 29% in 2004 to 17% last year. Furthermore, the percentage of Americans who consider themselves Christian dropped from 78.4% to 70.6% between 2007 and 201412. Despite the decline of religious inclinations, religious perspectives still inform other aspects of the society in Africa and in many parts of the west, including myths, traditions, beliefs, individual actions as well as social relationships and to an extent, it is often considered absurd for one not to be affiliated to a religion13. This also means that a good number of people turn to religion as a component that influences identity, and ideology and fosters resilience.
While the link between religion and peace is complex, given the fact that religion could be a source of conflict as well as a strategy to promote peacebuilding. A good indication of how religion can fuel conflict is the ongoing violence and extreme radicalization happening in the Middle East, the persecutions of the Rohingya in Myanmar and the emerging violence between Christians and Muslims across African nations14.
According to Rev. Dr Antoine Rutayisire a senior pastor with vast experience in supporting unity and reconciliation processes in Rwanda’s post-genocide context, the role of religious leaders goes beyond their prophetic role and trickles down to early warning signs of conflict rather than waiting for the conflict to occur. This analysis is often done in form of analyzing communities and supporting these communities to heal from their ethnic, racial and regional barriers before a conflict occurs since in most cases, the early warning signs can be detected.
Despite the complexities around the role of peacebuilding in conflict prevention, countless religious organizations have been involved in reconciliation work and supporting vulnerable and marginalized communities, in overcoming the after-effects of an atrocity. Their work has gone beyond supporting communities to being part of mediation forums that have contributed to peace processes in different countries across the world. Religious leaders/ institutions can be a key strategic partner in both prevention and early warning and if paired with national and international agencies involved in development work, it would yield tremendous outcomes and also inform the design of various peacebuilding initiatives. A good example can be drawn from Rwanda’s former National Unity and Reconciliation Commission whose Council of Commissioners as well as the board was comprised of prominent religious leaders. Furthermore, religious leaders should be conversant with new approaches to peacebuilding such as embracing the use of both traditional and nontraditional media, which has gained a huge audience, especially among youth. In addition, purposive partnerships with key organizations/ institutions such as government are vital to address the needs of a society while placing emphasis on sustaining existing peacebuilding activities and establishing new ones. Lastly, fostering sustainable peacebuilding is a long-term process and requires collective efforts as well as resources to transform communities. Once a society attains peace, all other aspects that contribute toward sustainable development can be attained.