Case Studies on Religion and Conflict

> Northern Ireland: Religious Actors in War and Peace

The conflict in Northern Ireland (1970-1998) was a political struggle wherein religion served as a marker of national identity in the conflict zone, with Protestant Unionists wanting to keep Northern Ireland as a part of the United Kingdom, and Catholic Nationalists wanting to unite Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland. Religious leaders on both sides of the conflict had some political and moral authority, but also had to contend with powerful secular elites. The Northern Ireland case demonstrates not only how religious identity and symbols can infuse a conflict, but also how religious actors can use their authority for division or reconciliation.

> Lebanon: Religious Communities at War

Once hailed for interfaith cooperation due to its fairly stable relations between Christians and Sunni Muslims, Lebanon descended into civil war over political and economic issues in the 1970s. The war officially ended in 1990, but continued tension between (and within) Christians, Sunnis, Shi’as, Druze and other groups hampers efforts to build stable democracy in Lebanon. This case study identifies how religious identity is a part of deep socio-economic cleavages that rend Lebanese society and destablize the region.

> Bosnia: Ethno-religious Nationalisms in Conflict

Yugoslavia began to fall apart in the 1980s as national groups pushed for autonomy in tandem with declines in the power and legitimacy of the state. This situation resulted in a security and identity space filled by nationalist claims along ethno-religious lines: Catholic Croat, Orthodox Serb, and Muslim being the most pronounced in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bosnian case demonstrates that ethno-religious identities can survive changing times and ideological indoctrination (e.g. Communism) to later be re-interpreted and popularized to mobilize entire populaces for war.

> Uganda: Religiously-inspired Insurgency

The Lord’s Resistance Army’s (LRA) rebellion against the Ugandan government has important religious overtones as the LRA claims religious legitimacy for its insurgency. The LRA reclaims the spirit world of the Acholi, a minority group in northern Uganda, while blending it with Christianity-inspired mysticism, and the leaders of the LRA and related movements have claimed to be possessed by spirits. This case demonstrates how religious inspiration can motivate individuals to fight as well as how faith can intertwine with ethnicity to form powerful identities and narratives.

> Kashmir: Religious Diversity becomes Religious Militancy

At the root of the Kashmir conflict are the nationalist movements of former British India (Pakistan and India) and the evolution of these movements since independence. One of the most salient issues in this evolution is religion. By the late 1970s Islamist discourse, including that of violent extremists, was on the rise in Pakistan; Hindu nationalism began to grow in the 1980s and the beginning of the Kashmiri militant movement reached critical mass by 1989. Despite a history of pluralism, religion has become an increasingly important marker of identity and a flashpoint for conflict in this divided region.

> Sri Lanka: Civil War Along Ethno-religious Lines

During Sri Lanka’s long civil war, religion was an important part of the collective identity and social narrative of many participants. Though the war was not a strictly religious conflict, the ethnic cleavage [Hindu] Tamil vs. [Buddhist] Sinhalese is central, particularly due to the identification of Buddhism with Sinhalese nationalism. This close link between religion and ethno-linguistic identity made religious targets particularly appealing for symbolic violence—not against faith per se, but against symbols representing opponents. In short, long-standing cleavages in Sri Lanka’s deadly civil war were defined in terms of identities that contain a religious element.

> Colombia: Religious Actors Inspiring Reconciliation

The Colombia conflict is not a religious war but religious actors are highly involved. For instance, some leaders of one rebel group, the ELN, root their struggle in Catholic liberation theology. Others, most notably the Colombian Conference of Catholic Bishops as well as some Protestant groups, have been active in humanitarian and peacebuilding efforts, placing many of them in harm’s way. This case study demonstrates the varied roles and motivations of religious actors in this conflict, particularly with regards to peacebuilding.

> Afghanistan: Religious Freedom and US Foreign Policy

Following the defeat of the Taliban in 2001, the international community pledged to help Afghanistan develop into a viable democracy. One of the many challenges has been in the areas of civil liberties and human rights. This case study examines the challenges of establishing religious freedom in Afghanistan by observing the lives of two Afghan citizens who were thrown into prison on religiously-motivated charges: one for apostasy and one for blasphemy. These and similar concerns make Afghanistan a difficult case for the foreign policies of Western countries committed to democracy and religious freedom.