Harvard Divinity School

Join this author discussion about the book "Decolonizing Religion and the Practice of Peace." The book is an investigation of what consolidating religion as a technology of peacebuilding and development does to people's accounts of their religious and cultural traditions and why interreligious peacebuilding entrenches colonial legacies in the present. Throughout the global south, local and international organizations are frequent participants in peacebuilding projects that focus on interreligious dialogue. Yet, the effects of their efforts are often perverse, reinforcing neocolonial practices and disempowering local religious actors. This book is based on empirical research of inter- and intra-religious peacebuilding practices in Kenya and the Philippines. Featuring Atalia Omer, T. J. Dermot Dunphy Visiting Professor of Religion, Violence, and Peacebuilding; Senior Fellow in Conflict and Peace Moderated by Diane L. Moore, Associate Dean of Religion and Public Life; Lecturer on Religion, Conflict, and Peace