“Reconcilers or warmongers? On the Peace Potential of Religions”. Under this title, the German Christian news portal “katholisch.de” has published an article by Moritz Findeisen (German only). In it, the author examines the current situation – the war in Ukraine – and asks whether religions are more likely to stir up conflicts or to bring about peace.
Findeisen raises the question of whether Pope Francis should position himself more decisively against the war and the Russian president, as some are demanding of him. Or whether, precisely through his restraint, he is not leaving open a decisive room for maneuver in which peacemaking talks are still possible.
According to Tübingen-based peace and conflict researcher Markus Weingardt, this is precisely one of religion’s strengths: “Secular forces – whether politicians or non-governmental organizations – are usually exposed to considerable distrust of their true, perhaps hidden, interests, especially if the peace actors come from abroad or are financed by them. A religious motivation for peacemaking, on the other hand, inspires confidence in many.”
The extent of the peacemaking potential of religions was also recognized by the German Foreign Office in 2018, which set up a separate unit called “Religion and Foreign Policy.” At the time, for example, the justification stated, “Religious communities are the largest transnational civil society actors in the world, with 84 percent of the world’s population professing a religion.” This unit has made financially possible the three multifaith peace conferences jointly organized by the New York-based NGO Religions for Peace and the Lindau Peace Dialogue Foundation in 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Moritz Findeisen’s search for clues also focuses on how Moscow Patriarch Cyril I is behaving in the current situation. You can read the full article by clicking on this link to katholisch.de.
The Lindau Peace Talks will be streamed live and to the public on Thursday, July 7, at 1 pm in German language. It will be released with English subtitles afterwards. The first Peace Talk will focus on peace diplomacy in Ukraine and will be moderated by Evelyn Finger (Die Zeit).
Author Moritz Findeisen from katholisch.de uses the current war in Ukraine to discuss the extent to which religions are more likely to bring peace or fuel conflict.
We are excited to announce that a German publisher used in one of its schoolbooks two texts that have been written in 2019 for a newspaper supplement commissioned by Ring for Peace accompanying the 10th World Assembly. The first text is from journalist Mareike Enghusen titled “Deeply Anchored Common Values” and the second one is from Rabbi David Rosen titled “Fighting Extremism and Fostering Peace“.
Gunnar Stålsett, former Evangelical Lutheran Bishop of Oslo, was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday. Stålsett is Honorary President of Religions for Peace and a member of the board of trustees of the Lindau Foundation Peace Dialogue of World Religions and Civil Society. Congratulations.
Muslims, Buddhists and Jews hand in hand on a stage, Christians, Sikhs and Taoists praying together in front of a ring made of wood as a symbol of peace, and indigenous people, Baha’i and Hindus dining together next to a large table with food that meets all religious needs. These images went around the world in 2019: Religions meet in Lindau to talk about peace. At the end of the conference, journalists were happy to ask the question, “And now what?”
The Lindau association “Friedensräume” invited on Thursday to a common prayer of the religions at the Ring for Peace in the Lindau Luitpoldpark. We were present at the ceremony, which makes us look forward to our ceremony on October 5.
The former EKD Council President was a guest speaker at the anniversary celebration of 20 years of peace rooms. In her speech, she criticized the arms deals of nations like Germany and called on religions to do more to shake things up.
March 8 is International Women’s Day. To mark the occasion, we publish this interview with Rachel Rosenbluth, one of the first Jewish women to be ordained as a rabbi. Rosenbluth was a speaker at the 1st Assembly on Women, Faith & Diplomacy in November 2020. Read, what she asks of men in the name of all women of faith.
Today, November 25th, the world commemorates discrimination and violence against women and girls. The Lindauer Stiftung Friedensdialog der Weltreligionen und Zivilgesellschaft, Ring for Peace, is permanently launching very concrete projects to remedy this situation. Learn more about the ongoing efforts of our foundation.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and Religions for Peace announced a commitment to form a Multi-Religious Council of Leaders to strengthen efforts to address the root causes of conflict and displacement and to support peacebuilding, inclusion and reconciliation efforts.
