Evaluating Interreligious Peacebuilding And Dialogue

In the emerging fields of religious and interreligious peacebuilding, the question of monitoring and evaluation is a challenging, yet necessary process. The need to develop comprehensive yet fitting evaluation models for religious and interreligious peacebuilding is not only important for donor interests, but also critical as a means of documenting and learning for peacebuilders themselves. Theories and best practices in monitoring and evaluation have become prevalent in many fields, yet the amount of literature on evaluating intercultural and, especially, religious and interreligious projects remains scant in comparison. This volume offers a unique contribution that not only looks at several of the challenges and implications faced by religious and interreligious peacebuilders but also provides concrete examples of new models and tools for monitoring and evaluating religious and interreligious peacebuilding projects. In doing so, this volume serves as a tool and point of reference for individuals and organizations developing and implementing interreligious dialogue and peacebuilding projects.

In the emerging fields of religious and interreligious peacebuilding, the question of monitoring and evaluation is a challenging, yet necessary process. The need to develop comprehensive yet fitting evaluation models for religious and interreligious peacebuilding is not only important for donor interests, but also critical as a means of documenting and learning for peacebuilders themselves. Theories and best practices in monitoring and evaluation have become prevalent in many fields, yet the amount of literature on evaluating intercultural and, especially, religious and interreligious projects remains scant in comparison. This volume offers a unique contribution that not only looks at several of the challenges and implications faced by religious and interreligious peacebuilders but also provides concrete examples of new models and tools for monitoring and evaluating religious and interreligious peacebuilding projects. In doing so, this volume serves as a tool and point of reference for individuals and organizations developing and implementing interreligious dialogue and peacebuilding projects.

In the emerging fields of religious and interreligious peacebuilding, the question of monitoring and evaluation is a challenging, yet necessary process. The need to develop comprehensive yet fitting evaluation models for religious and interreligious peacebuilding is not only important for donor interests, but also critical as a means of documenting and learning for peacebuilders themselves. Theories and best practices in monitoring and evaluation have become prevalent in many fields, yet the amount of literature on evaluating intercultural and, especially, religious and interreligious projects remains scant in comparison. This volume offers a unique contribution that not only looks at several of the challenges and implications faced by religious and interreligious peacebuilders but also provides concrete examples of new models and tools for monitoring and evaluating religious and interreligious peacebuilding projects. In doing so, this volume serves as a tool and point of reference for individuals and organizations developing and implementing interreligious dialogue and peacebuilding projects.

Interreligious dialogue is increasingly perceived as an important factor in politics that can contribute to successful collaborations on a wide range of issues from containing local conflicts to tackling global climate change. While some see the dialogue of religious leaders as vital for bringing about a better world for all, others are more critical. The essays in this special issue of CrossCurrents begin with questions about the relationship between interreligious dialogue and diplomacy. How are career diplomats trained in religious literacy and interacting with religious leaders? How are states trying to use diplomatic dialogue to further their goals, and how are religious actors negotiating their own agency? How political should interreligious dialogue be? Contributors here are diplomats and scholars who present cases that examine the effectiveness of interreligious dialogue as a form of advancing political interests peacefully. In the September 2022 issue of CrossCurrents: "Editorial Introduction: Interreligious Dialogue and Diplomacy" by Melanie Barbato "Diplomacy and interreligious dialogue: A generative model" by Pasquale Ferrara "Interfaith Dialogue and Healthcare Diplomacy during Covid-19 and Beyond: Parameters, Opportunities, and Constraints" by Nukhet A. Sandal "Putting Interfaith Dialogue on the Public Diplomacy Radar: Goals, Power, Strategies, and the Influence of Worldviews" by Juyan Zhang "Bridging the Divides: Interreligious Diplomacy for Effective Peacebuilding" by Sharon Rosen "Interreligious Engagement and Political Theory: Between Virtue Ethics and Religious Humanism" by Michael Daniel Driessen "Diplomacy" and "The Fire and Sermon" poetry by Abhay K. "Abu-Nimer, Mohammed & Renata Katalin Nelson, eds., Evaluating Interreligious Peacebuilding and Dialogue: Methods and Frameworks." reviewed by Richard McCallum

Religion as a Conversation Starter is the first comprehensive analysis of the present state of interreligious dialogue for peacebuilding in Southeast Europe. It is based on empirically grounded and policy-oriented research, carried out throughout the Balkans. The study maps recent interreligious relations in this part of the world, throwing light on both the achievements and challenges of interreligious dialogue for peacebuilding in particular, and offering a set of up-to-date policy recommendations, whilst contributing to a greater understanding of the local particularities and how they relate to broader trends transnationally. Interreligious dialogue has been a central tool in the continuous international efforts to promote peaceful living together in multicultural and multireligious societies. This fascinating monograph explores the place of interreligious dialogue as a primary method in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, and will be of interest to scholars of religious and peace studies, as well as those who advocate and carry out organized interventions in religion-related spheres.

Foreword / David Smock -- Introduction -- Religion : a blessing or a curse? -- After the collapse of Oslo -- The Alexandria Summit and its aftermath -- Grassroots interreligious dialogues -- Educating the educators -- Other Muslim voices for interreligious peacebuilding -- Symbolic ritual as a mode of peacemaking -- Active solidarity : rabbis for human rights -- From personal grief to collective compassion -- Journeys of personal transformation -- Practical recommendations -- Appendices.