The Churches & Peacebuilding: Past, Present and Future

On Tuesday 18 April I participated in a panel on ‘Peacebuilding’ at Queen’s University’s Agreement25 Conference.

You can read the full text of my remarks here.

Image from Clonard Reconciliation ministry, including Fr Alec Reid and Fr Gerry Reynolds… Read more...

Reconciliation Fund Marks Publication of Considering Grace: Presbyterians and the Troubles

Last week, the Irish Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs hosted a special event in Iveagh House, Dublin, to mark the publication of my book, co-authored with Jamie Yohanis, Considering Grace: Presbyterians and the Troubles.

As reported on the Presbyterian Church Read more...

Religion & the University Experience in Britain and Northern Ireland with Mathew Guest and me …

On Thursday 9 March the Queen’s Religious Studies Forum hosted an event on Religion and the University Experience: Perspectives from Britain & Northern Ireland, featuring Prof Mathew Guest (Durham) and me.

You can listen to the audio of our contributions … Read more...

Can there be Peace? The Troubles and Faith Leaders in Northern Ireland – Roundtable in Lowell, Mass

On Tuesday I participated in a roundtable on, ‘Can there be Peace? Faith Leaders and Healing after Violent Conflict’, sponsored by the Office of the Provost at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell.

The event was attended by members of … Read more...

Recent posts on Slugger O’Toole: From King Charles III to ‘No Religion’

It has been some time since I posted on this blog. For any faithful followers who still remain, do be aware that I have had several posts on the Slugger O’Toole blog. These include:

Reconciliation: The theme of King Charles’ Read more...

Churches as Sources of Hope in a Society Emerging from Covid-19

Last month, I was guest speaker at a conference on ‘The Importance of Hope’, organised by ‘Flourish’, a ministry of Lighthouse in Belfast.

Drawing on my research on religion during the pandemic, I spoke on ‘Something Other than a Building: … Read more...

Kroc Institute Lecture: Rethinking the Role of Clergy in Violence and Peacebuilding

Earlier this month, I spoke at the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies on ‘Rethinking the Role of Clergy in Violence and Peacebuilding’ (12 April).

The lecture was initiated by the Kroc Institute’s Contending Modernities initiative … Read more...

Introduction to the Roundtable on the Special Issue of ‘Religions’ on Religious Conflict and Peacebuilding

On 7 April, Queen’s University Belfast’s Religious Studies Forum hosted a roundtable discussion of a special issue of Religions on ‘Religious Conflict and Peacebuilding’, co-edited by Joram Tarusarira me.

All articles in the special issue are open access, and you Read more...

Fortnight Review of ‘Considering Grace: Presbyterians and the Troubles’ by Claire Mitchell: ‘a gritty and poignant exploration’

Claire Mitchell has reviewed Considering Grace: Presbyterians and the Troubles, by Jamie Yohanis and me, in Northern Ireland’s Fortnight magazine (January 2022 edition). 

Mitchell, a writer based in Belfast and a former sociologist at Queen’s University, calls the book … Read more...

Read the Signs: Detecting Early Warning Signals of Interreligious Conflict by Peter Ochs et al published in Special Issue

Another article has been published in our special issue of the journal Religions on ‘Religious Conflict and Peacebuilding: Advances in the Field’ by Peter Ochs, Essam Fahim, and Paola Pinzon from the University of Virginia. Ochs is the Edgar M. … Read more...

Julia Newton Wins Sídh (Postgraduate) Essay Prize

Julia Newton, a graduate of Queen’s MA in Conflict Transformation and Social Justice, has won the Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religion’s 2021 Sídh (Postgraduate) Essay Prize.

Julia’s essay, which addressed the question,‘Whose Chosen Nation: An Analysis Read more...