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...

‘Where the Birds Sing’: A Song of Acknowledgement and Hope for Northern Ireland …

The Commission for Victims and Survivors in Northern Ireland (CVSNI) has partnered with the Northern Ireland International Organ Competition in their 10th anniversary year to sponsor a short organ piece.

‘Where the Birds Sing’, composed by Grace Evangeline Mason, had … 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...

The 4 Corners Festival & the Unfinished Work of Peace: Irish Council of Churches AGM

Last week (31 March) I took part in a panel discussion at the Irish Council of Churches 99th Annual General Meeting at Skainos in East Belfast. The theme of the AGM was ‘The Unfinished Work of Peace’. Church of Ireland … Read more...

John Brewer on his new book, ‘An Advanced Introduction to the Sociology of Peace Process’

In a post first published by Queen’s University, Professor John D. Brewer  reflects on the war in Ukraine by drawing on insights from his new book, An Advanced Introduction to the Sociology of Peace Process (Edward Elgar, 2002).

The paperback Read more...

The Road to Reconciliation—Insights from Christian Public Theology by Christine Schliesser published in Special Issue of Religions

The Road to Reconciliation—Insights from Christian Public Theology‘ by Christine Schliesser, has been published in the Special Issue of Religions on ‘Religious Conflict and Peacebuilding: Advances in the Field’, co-edited by Joram Tarusarira and me.

Schliesser is … 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...

Divine Discomfort: A Relational Encounter with Multi-Generational and Multi-Layered Trauma by Christo Thesnaar published in Special Issue of Religions

The first article by a theologian has been published in the (interdisciplinary) special issue of the open-access journal Religions on ‘Religious Conflict and Peacebuilding: Advances in the Field’, co-edited by Joram Tarusarira and me. 

Divine Discomfort: A Relational Encounter with Read more...