Religion, Conflict and Peace
Explore the diverse and complex roles that religions play in both promoting and mitigating violence.
In this course, we will explore a series of contemporary conflicts in different regions of the world with a special focus on identifying and analyzing the diverse and complex roles that religions play in both promoting and mitigating violence in each context.
4-8 hours per week
What You'll Learn
In this course, we will explore a series of contemporary conflicts in different regions of the world with a special focus on identifying and analyzing the diverse and complex roles that religions play in both promoting and mitigating violence in each context. Students will learn a method for recognizing and analyzing how religious ideologies are embedded in all arenas of human agency and not isolated from political, economic, and cultural life as is often assumed.
In addition to examining the conflicts themselves, we will also explore the religious dimensions of the impacts those conflicts have on civic life in areas such as public health, education, and commerce by addressing a series of questions.
What roles do religions play in fostering violence and what roles do they play in promoting peace? How do religious institutions and ideologies function to support and/or thwart public health initiatives? What are the ideological justifications for functional economic policies and how do they reflect and/or challenge diverse religious values? What roles do religions play in advancing or suppressing educational opportunities and for whom? Are media representations of the religious dimensions of conflict accurate?
Possible countries of focus include Brazil, Egypt, France, Israel/Palestine, Myanmar, Nigeria, Qatar, the Philippines, Somalia, Syria, Turkey, and the United States. Final projects will be individually shaped based on interest and (where relevant) professional focus.
The course is open to all and especially relevant for aspiring or professional educators, journalists, public health workers, foreign service officers and government officials who wish to better understand how religions function in contemporary world affairs.
This course follows the popular World Religions Through Their Scriptures series, which explores the foundations of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism.
The course will be delivered via edX and connect learners around the world. By the end of the course, participants will understand:
- Tools for how to interpret the roles religions play in contemporary conflicts
- How religions are internally diverse
- How religions evolve and change
- How religions are embedded in all human cultures
Your Instructors
Diane L. Moore
Senior Lecturer and the Director of the Religious Literacy Project, Harvard University
Diane L. Moore is a Senior Lecturer and the Director of the Religious Literacy Project at the Harvard Divinity School. She is also a Senior Scholar at the Center for the Study of World Religions.
Ways to take this course
When you enroll in this course, you will have the option of pursuing a Verified Certificate or Auditing the Course.
A Verified Certificate costs $149 and provides unlimited access to full course materials, activities, tests, and forums. At the end of the course, learners who earn a passing grade can receive a certificate.
Alternatively, learners can Audit the course for free and have access to select course material, activities, tests, and forums. Please note that this track does not offer a certificate for learners who earn a passing grade.