This course from Harvard University examines the complex relationship between religion, conflict, and peace in contemporary global affairs. It focuses on analyzing how religious beliefs, institutions, and ideologies can both fuel violence and contribute to peacebuilding across different regions and contexts.
Learners explore a range of real-world conflicts and develop a structured method for understanding how religion is embedded within political, economic, and cultural systems, rather than existing as a separate sphere. The course also investigates how religion shapes key areas of civic life, including public health, education, and economic policy, and critically assesses how these dynamics are represented in the media.
Throughout the course, participants build analytical skills to interpret religious influences in global conflicts, while recognizing the internal diversity and evolving nature of religious traditions. Overall, it equips learners with a nuanced, interdisciplinary framework for understanding and engaging religion’s role in both conflict and peace processes.