Religious Organisations’ Role In Conflict And Peacebuilding In West Africa: A Case Study Of The Catholic Church

Abstract

Wars, armed conflict, and instability continue to plague Africa, causing human misery and impeding progress across most of the continent. Consequently, preventing and eliminating violent conflict has become a top priority. This study therefore sought to examine religious organisations’ roles in conflict and peacebuilding in West Africa using the Catholic Church as a case study. The study employed a qualitative research approach of data collection and analysis. Ten key informants with at least ten years of experience working on religious, conflict resolution, and peace-building initiatives were purposively sampled. Interviews were conducted with the key informants where thematic analysis was performed for data triangulation and corroboration of qualitative findings. The study found that interfaith tensions suffocate peace throughout the West African Sub-Region as they serve as a conduit for ethnic disputes, mostly between Muslims and Christians. Also, the study found that the Catholic Church adopts a variety of approaches towards conflict resolution and peacebuilding through anticipatory and reconciliatory strategies, which include dialogue meetings, education, and advocacy in conjunction with civil society organisations, strategic meetings with eminent statesmen, mediation, reconciliation, the use of surveillance reports as a basis for dialogue, information dissemination via radio, and the use of Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to mediate disagreements. Furthermore, the study found that the effectiveness of religious organizations’ conflict management initiatives within the Catholic Church is the result of institutional structure, resource allocation, capacity investment, reputation gained over the years, and the mainstreaming of peacebuilding and conflict resolution approaches as part of its routine programmes.