Religious Actors and Conflict Transformation in Southeast Asia

Jürgen Rüland, Christian von Lübke, Marcel M. Baumann

"Drawing on a rich body of multimethod field research, this book examines the ways in which Indonesian and Philippine religious actors have contributed to conflict resolution and under what conditions these efforts have been met with success or limited success. The book addresses two central questions: In what ways, and to what extent, have post-conflict peacebuilding activities of Christian churches contributed to conflict transformation in Mindanao (Philippines) and Maluku (Indonesia)? And to what extent have these church-based efforts been affected by specific economic, political or social contexts? Based on extensive fieldwork, the study operates with a nested, multi-dimensional and multi-layered methodological concept which combines qualitative and quantitative methods. Major findings are that church-based peace activities do matter, that they have higher approval rates than...