Religion can be a cause of conflict but equally it can be an important tool for the prevention, management and resolution of conflict. It can be a powerful force for integration or a cause of segregation and marginalisation of others. This is true regardless of the theological or ethnic differences that exist at the global, regional or local levels. Faith imbues the whole life of a believer and, either consciously or unconsciously, helps shape their human response to the moral, social and political challenges they encounter each day. The challenge facing religious leadership today is to overcome the past and present ambivalence towards the use violence, prevalent in all the major religious traditions, and to help their adherents to recognise the need to live along side and to engage the other regardless of their theological differences.
Religion, conflict, prevention, ambivalence, leadership.