Everyday Practices of Toleration

The Interfaith Foundations of Peace Accords in Sierra Leone

Bibliographic Data

ID6212759
AuthorsJoel Day (0000-0003-0738-9816, University of Southern California, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume14
Issue1
Pages54-82
Publication date2021-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolitics and Religion (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1755-0491 • E-ISSN: 1755-0483
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1755048319000555
OpenAlexW3000470255
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited41

Under what conditions can faith leaders influence peace in civil wars? The ongoing conflict in Congo, Syria, and Yemen indicate that faith leaders can fuel sectarian divide, but also intervene on the side of peace. Drawing on experiences in Sierra Leone's civil war, this paper highlights the role of faith leaders as moral guarantors of peace processes, with respondent former rebels indicating that without interfaith delegations personally bringing the peace accord to their remote jungle camps, they would not have trusted the UN-led process. Ethnographic analysis and over 60 field interviews with former combatants and religious leaders, presents a model for answering why faith leaders were central in terminating this conflict. Combatant's personal experience with a diverse mixture of Christian, Traditional, and Islamic leaders contributed to high confidence in peace accords, due to interfaith practices deeply embedded within the culture and shows the dispositions, rituals, and interfaith practices that provided the cultural foundations for successful interfaith intervention. The paper ends with generalizations for other interfaith groups seeking to intervene in conflict

Ethnography · Ethnology · Faith · Islam · Political science · Sierra leone · Sociology · Theology · Anthropology · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security · Political Conflict and Governance · Religion, Society, and Development

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