Treat the Stranger as Your Own: Religious Prosociality and Conflict Transformation

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Jeffrey R. Seul

Abstract

Recent social scientific research sheds new light on the relationship among religion, conflict, and cooperation. Religion itself does not cause conflict; rather, religious groups are subject to the same us-them dynamic that can generate conflict between other types of identity groups, including ethnic groups. Religions are particularly adept at promoting cooperation within groups, however, which helps explain the unique capacity they have demonstrated throughout history to support the development of and sustain large groups. Recent research regarding religion’s capacity to promote cooperation within groups also is yielding insights into how religion can help promote cooperation between groups—a development that has received scant attention among experts in the emerging field of religious peacebuilding, or within the broader international relations community. This article provides a synthetic, analytical overview of this important line of research and offers examples of its implications for policy making and practice.

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