Law, Religion and Reconciliation in Africa


Book Description

Forgiveness and reconciliation are important moments for the stability of a society and a state. Many African countries have gone through serious social crises in the post-colonial period: genocide, post-election crises, civil and internal conflicts, and outright war. Forgiveness and reconciliation have been necessary to reweave the social fabric and restart the construction of peaceful and prosperous societies. Chapters in this book examine the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions and religious councils aimed at peace, along with African traditional approaches, mediation and arbitration councils, post-conflict contexts, and the roles of women and gender, philosophy and theology, and programs of education for peace.




Religion, Law and Security in Africa


Book Description

Security is a key topic of our time. But how do we understand it? Do law and religion take different views of it? In this fifth volume in the Law and Religion in Africa series, radicalisation, terrorism, blasphemy, hate speech, religious freedom and just war theories rub shoulders with issues of witchcraft, female genital mutilation circumcision, child marriage, displaced communities and additional issues besides. This unique collection of topics is both challenging and inspiring, providing illumination in troubled times, and forming a sound foundation for future scholarship.




Religion and Human Security in Africa


Book Description

Across diverse countries and contexts in Africa, religion has direct implications for human security. While some individuals and groups seek to manipulate and control through the deployment of religion, religious belief is also a common facet of those working towards peace and reconciliation. Despite the strategic importance of religion to human security in Africa, there are few contemporary publications that explore this issue on an international scale. This volume redresses that imbalance by examining religion’s impact on human security across Africa. Written by an international team of contributors, this book looks in detail at the intersection of religion and security in a variety of African contexts. Case studies from a diverse set of countries including Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Burkina Faso, and more, are used to illustrate wider trends across the continent. Acknowledging that religion can be used to incite violence as well as encourage peace, the chapters employ an interdisciplinary exploration of the ethics, sociology, and politics around these issues. This is much needed volume on religion’s capacity to effect human security. It will, therefore, be of significant interest to any scholar of religious studies, African studies, political science, the sociology of religion, and anthropology, as well as peace, conflict, and reconciliation studies.




RELIGION AND RECONCILIATION IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA


Book Description

This paper examines the role that has been played by religion in South Africa to promote the spirit of peace and reconciliation in the post-apartheid state.




The Equal-Regard Family and Its Friendly Critics


Book Description

This volume is both a celebration and an evaluation of the work on sex, marriage, and family life by Don S. Browning, the dean of modern family studies in theological ethics and practical theology. Scholars probe a number of Browning?'s contributions, particularly his call for an ethic of ?equal regard? within the household and wider society. This book is a true interdisciplinary effort, with insights from psychology, history, law, theology, biology, ethics, feminist theology, childhood studies, and education theory. The Equal-Regard Family and Its Friendly Critics includes seven honorary forewords, ten original essays, and a concluding essay by Don Browning himself. Contributors: Herbert Anderson Carol Browning Don S. Browning Lisa Sowle Cahill M. Christian Green Timothy P. Jackson Martin E. Marty Rebekah Miles Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore Richard Robert Osmer Garrett E. Paul Stephen J. Pope David Popenoe Stephen M. Tipton Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen Linda J. Waite John Wall Amy Wheeler Barbara Dafoe Whitehead John Witte Jr.




Religion and Conflict Resolution


Book Description

This book examines the ambiguous role that Christianity played in South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). It has two objectives: to analyse the role Christianity played in the TRC and to highlight certain consequences that may be instructive to future international conflict resolution processes. Religion and conflict resolution is an area of significant importance. Ongoing conflicts involving Palestinians and Israelis, Muslims and Hindus, and even radical Islamic jihadists and Western countries have heightened the awareness of the potential power of religion to fuel conflict. Yet these religious traditions also promote peace and respect for others as key components in doing justice. Examining the potential role religion can play in generating peace and justice, specifically Christianity in South Africa's TRC, is of utmost importance as religiously inspired violence continues to occur. This book highlights the importance of accounting for religion in international conflict resolution.




Reconciliation and Religio-political Non-conformism in Zimbabwe


Book Description

Religio-political organisations in Zimbabwe play an important role in advocating democratisation and reconciliation, against acquiescent, silenced or co-opted mainstream churches. Reconciliation and Religio-political Non-conformism in Zimbabwe analyses activities of religious organisations that deviate from the position of mainline churches and the political elites with regard to religious participation in political matters, against a background of political conflict and violence. Drawing on detailed case studies of the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance (ZCA), Churches in Manicaland (CiM) and Grace to Heal (GtH), this book provocatively argues that in the face of an unsatisfactory religious and political culture, religio-political non-conformists emerge seeking to introduce a new ethos even in the face of negative sanctions from dominant religious and political systems.




Democratization and Islamic Law


Book Description

When democracy was introduced to Nigeria in 1999, one-third of its federal states declared that they would be governed by sharia, or Islamic law. This work argues that such a break with secular constitutional traditions in a multireligious country can have disastrous consequences




Law, Religion, Health and Healing in Africa


Book Description

The Covid‑19 pandemic was global in its spread and reach, as well as in its medical, social and economic effects. In many respects, the global effort to “flatten the curve” produced a flattening of experience around the world and a striking coincidence of similar experiences in countries the world over. The identity, simultaneity and uniformity of experience were also manifest in common concerns at the intersection of law and religion in many nations around the world, including Africa. The lockdowns and closure of religious worship centres – churches, mosques and religious organisations of all sorts – raised questions of freedom of religion and the related concern for freedom of assembly, along with concerns about the relation of religion to science and public health, religious channels of communication and religious provision of social services. After all, health, communications and social services are all areas in which African religious organisations play key roles. Potential tensions around these issues raised further considerations about the nature of religion-state relations, the status of religious authority and whether religious and state actors would work together or at odds in addressing the Covid‑19 pandemic.