Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Religions will bring together papers which advance the theoretical and practical understanding of how religion can positively contribute to peacebuilding, conflict transformation, conflict prevention, and reconciliation processes. The roles of religion and religious actors in peacebuilding and reconciliation have received increasing attention, yet this is an area which is still significantly underdeveloped in terms of methodological rigor and theoretical sophistication. The aim of this Special Issue is to encourage debate about the future directions of religious peacebuilding, and new perspectives and approaches which can help advance knowledge and understanding in this important subject area.

Consequently, contributions are encouraged that:

• Offer deep critical reflection on the dominant theories and ideas which have so far underpinned academic work in religion and peacebuilding;
• Draw upon field research and case studies to interrogate the complex relationship between theory and practice, and examine how empirical data compare, contrast, and enhance current theoretical frames and ideas;
• Explore the impact of religious peacebuilding and advocacy on national and international policy making, and the extent to which this is effective or desirable;
• Explore how the reality of religious traditions, such as transnational, transcultural, and incontestable worldviews and truths, relate to the increasing emphasis on the specificity of localized, elicitive, and adaptive forms of peacebuilding;
• Scrutinize the ‘politics’ of religious peacebuilding, critically examining the discursive political and historical narratives and discourses which underpin international emphasis on interests such as Freedom of Religion and Belief and religious minority rights and inclusion;
• Examine the roles played by women and young people in faith-based peacebuilding and reconciliation interventions, and suggest ways in which narratives about inclusivity could be better realized in practice;
• Elaborate the roles new technologies and social media can play in enhancing the contributions religious actors can make to peacebuilding;
• Investigate the growing influence of the arts and humanities and religious techniques and practices (e.g., yoga, ritual, symbology) in peacebuilding and conflict transformation;
• Critically reflect on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on faith-based peacebuilding, and how religious initiatives and networks have, or have not, contributed to building conflict resilience in societies and communities.

The co-editors see the examination of religion’s roles in peacebuilding as cross- and interdisciplinary. The Special Issue will bring together scholars from a variety of disciplines and welcome papers that explore fresh interdisciplinary perspectives and developments, and offer new methodological approaches. This will lead to greater interdisciplinary understanding of how faith-based groups and religious actors can most effectively use their religious, spiritual, and cultural capital to bring about peace with justice. 

Prof. Dr. Anna King
Dr. Mark Owen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• religion
• actors
• peacebuilding
• conflict transformation
• reconciliation
• conflict prevention