Date of Award
Spring 5-31-2025
Document Type
Honors Project
University Scholars Director
Dr. Joshua Tom
First Advisor/Committee Member
Dr. Kevin Neuhouser
Keywords
Religion, Conflict Resolution, Peacebuilding, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Ukrainian-Russian War, Reconciliation
Abstract
Religion has long influenced both the escalation of conflicts and efforts toward peace. The wars in Ukraine and Palestine are deeply rooted in historical narratives, national identities, and religious influences. While the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is often framed in terms of Jewish-Muslim tensions and the issue of politicization of religion and tensions within the Orthodox Church frame the Ukrainian-Russian War, these dominant narratives often overlook the role of minority religious groups. This paper examines the contributions of Protestant Christian groups in these regions, exploring how their beliefs and practices influence their actions, identity formation, interactions with others, and approaches to conflict resolution. Although these groups are small, their work intersects with broader religious and secular peace efforts, including trauma healing, humanitarian aid, and political advocacy. They also play a significant role in providing a moral vision for a lasting peace built on justice, engagement, and reconciliation. Fulfilling this role requires both advocacy and mediation. By shedding light on their contributions, this research underlines the need to understand and work together with these often-overlooked religious communities.
Recommended Citation
Lats, Julia, "Faith in Conflict: The Role of Religion in Conflict and Peacebuilding Among Minority Christian Communities in Ukraine and Palestine" (2025). Honors Projects. 252.
https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/honorsprojects/252
Copyright Status
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Additional Rights Information
Copyright held by author.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Included in
Peace and Conflict Studies Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Social Justice Commons, Social Psychology and Interaction Commons, Sociology of Religion Commons
Comments
A project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree in Honors Liberal Arts
Presented at the SPU Honors Research Symposium on May 17, 2025