Interfaith Peacebuilding Guide

The URI Interfaith Peacebuilding Guide is produced by the United Religions Initiative (URI). This is a teaching resource for educators, trainers and interfaith groups who are committed to building cultures of peace. The collection of over 50 varied lesson ideas seeks to deepen an individual’s faith, understanding, and commitment and to build constructive, long-lasting community relationships. The Guide is designed for those who are new to interfaith as well as for established interfaith groups that want to sharpen their skills in nurturing interfaith understanding and in taking action. The lessons combine conflict-transformation methods with positive change approaches, for example, Appreciative Inquiry.

 

Interfaith Curriculum for Peacemaking

This resource enables participants to acquire basic skills in interfaith dialogue while building bridges across religious and cultural differences. The 74-page curriculum is published by the Abrahamic Faiths Peace Initiative (USA) and is authored by learned practitioners of three religious traditions. Three sessions focus on peace-making in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Also included are guidelines for interfaith leaders, reflective exercises, background information sources, suggestions for further readings and excellent tips for practicing interfaith hospitality. The curriculum is also an important resource for those who are not members of the Abrahamic traditions. This document can be downloaded free of charge and is also available as a Kindle e-book

 

A Trainer’s Guide to interfaith Peacebuilding in Sri Lanka

This comprehensive manual contains activities and exercises to foster interfaith peace-building and social reconstruction. Included are sections on conflict analysis, peace-building interventions, training guidelines, group-building, social healing and dialogue.

 

Manual to facilitate Faith-based peacebuilding and reconciliation (African context)

This manual was developed to help people understand the causes and consequences of local conflict and to alert people to faith-based resources that are available to peace-builders. The main thrust of the manual involves the viewing of and discussion about two films that focus on conflict-transformation in Kenya and Nigeria.

 

Ten Things You Can Do to Support Interfaith Peacemaking and Collaborative Action

These 10 guidelines are very helpful for individuals, interfaith groups and congregations that are committed to building interfaith relationships in a local community.

 

Reflective Structured Dialogue:  A Dialogical Guide to Peacebuilding

This 76-page interfaith dialogue guide blends Scripture (Islamic and Christian) with family systems theory to offer specific guidelines, techniques and practices that can help bridge religious, ethnic and other kinds of identity divides. It was designed to help facilitators bring together Christians and Muslims in workshops, dialogues, mediations, meetings, interventions or mentoring groups.  Although designed for use within the Nigerian cultural context, it is applicable within many other cultural contexts where faith is a critical factor, and where identity differences divide a population, resulting in community rupture or violence.

 

Kids4Peace – curriculum for an intercontinental youth camp

Kids4Peace (International) is an interfaith peace education organization dedicated to encouraging children of different cultures and religions to explore their differences and similarities, and to learn understanding, tolerance and respect, while fostering sustainable friendships across the lines of conflict. On a number of occasions in recent years, Kids4Peace (Canada) has brought four Jewish, four Muslim, and four Christian eleven year-old children from the Galilee region of Israel to a two-week summer camp experience in Ontario, Canada. The purpose is to create new friendships and to help build the human foundations for peace in the children’s troubled region. In the camp, they are joined by a corresponding number of Canadian children from the three faiths. All participants – staff, families and children – share a commitment to peace. Featured here is the daily schedule of a 10-day Kids4Peace camp held in Ontario in 2012.

 

Addressing religious diversity issues in schools, workplaces, health care environments and conflict situations

The Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding in New York City, USA features training programs and education resources that promote religious diversity in schools, the workplace and health care environments. The Peacemaker in Action Network is at the heart of Tanenbaum’s work in conflict resolution/transformation.

 

Tools, guidelines and other resources to address diversity, controversy and conflict (British context)

This resource enables teachers and their students to approach topics related to various faiths and diverse ways of life. And to do it in a nuanced way, without shying away from difficult or controversial questions. This toolkit consists of a series of guidelines on how to talk about sensitive issues respectfully while encouraging people to ask questions and remain open and curious.

 

Camp activities for Relationship-Building and Conflict Resolution

This collection of best practices was inspired by a North American weekend camp experience for the Middle East Public Peace Process. Some titles of the many activities that are outlined: “Body Outlines” “Perspective Squares”, “Legacies – An Experience of Dialogue”, “Masks and Culture”, “Pandora’s Box: Difficult Issues”, “Identity with the Land”

 

Constructing a local multifaith network

This information kit enables Australians to start a multifaith network in their local area. The introduction outlines why it is necessary to build multifaith networks across Australia. A “How-to-do-it” section outlines numerous activities that can be organized by local multifaith networks. Also included is a local-to-global listing of interfaith organizations, resources and websites.