Breakout session on 'Religion, Peace and Conflict.' Second talk: Dr David Tombs, Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College, Dublin. on 'Christianity, Peace and Conflict in Northern Ireland'. The role of religion in 'the Troubles' in Northern Ireland has been a topic of considerable debate. Differences over religion were not themselves a direct cause of 'the Troubles', and on one level the Christian churches have consistently opposed violence. Nonetheless, at another level, Northern Ireland's religious divisions between Catholics and Protestants have played a significant role in enabling, sustaining and shaping the political conflict. This paper examines the role of religion in both the course of the conflict, and in the current search for peace and reconciliation.

Christianity, Peace and Conflict in Northern Ireland

This Conference was organised by an ad hoc multidisciplinary group in Oxford University, which had begun in 2006 to discuss how to network and raise the profile of the research already being done in Oxford on peace, peacemaking, peacebuilding and peacekeeping. The title ‘The Serious Study of Peace’ underlines that peace was no longer seen merely as a fringe interest but was beginning to take its place in academe as a matter of serious concern to which a wide range of disciplines can contribute. The focus on peace adds a fresh dimension to established disciplines and engenders a distinctive interdisciplinary synergy. The Conference resulted in the creation of the ongoing Oxford Network of Peace Studies (OxPeace), with worldwide contacts, and led to the possibility, once endowments become available, of the establishment of research and teaching posts in peace studies in Oxford. 

The conference organizers included Revd Dr Liz Carmichael MBE (Tutor in Theology, St John's), Dr Phil Clark (Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, and Oxford Transitional Justice Research Group), Professor Mary King (Fellow, Rothermere Institute; UN University for Peace), Revd Dr Robin Gibbons (Kellogg), Professor Neil Macfarlane (International Relations), Dr Sondra Hausner (St Peter's; anthropologist, head of Study of Religions in Theology), Dr Hugo Slim (Visiting Fellow: Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict), and Bryony Winn (Rhodes Scholar, M.Phil. Development Studies, Student Assistant).

Education

This Conference was organised by an ad hoc multidisciplinary group in Oxford University, which had begun in 2006 to discuss how to network and raise the profile of the research already being done in Oxford on peace, peacemaking, peacebuilding and peacekeeping. The title ‘The Serious Study of Peace’ underlines that peace was no longer seen merely as a fringe interest but was beginning to take its place in academe as a matter of serious concern to which a wide range of disciplines can contribute. The focus on peace adds a fresh dimension to established disciplines and engenders a distinctive interdisciplinary synergy. The Conference resulted in the creation of the ongoing Oxford Network of Peace Studies (OxPeace), with worldwide contacts, and led to the possibility, once endowments become available, of the establishment of research and teaching posts in peace studies in Oxford. The conference organizers included Revd Dr Liz Carmichael MBE (Tutor in Theology, St John's), Dr Phil Clark (Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, and Oxford Transitional Justice Research Group), Professor Mary King (Fellow, Rothermere Institute; UN University for Peace), Revd Dr Robin Gibbons (Kellogg), Professor Neil Macfarlane (International Relations), Dr Sondra Hausner (St Peter's; anthropologist, head of Study of Religions in Theology), Dr Hugo Slim (Visiting Fellow: Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict), and Bryony Winn (Rhodes Scholar, M.Phil. Development Studies, Student Assistant).

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