Religion and Conflict

Online Course

University of Groningen

Future Learn

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Religion and Conflict

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Prerequisites & Facts
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What is the course about?

Religion and Conflict

The course Religion and Conflict is an online class provided by University of Groningen through Future Learn. It may be possible to receive a verified certification or use the course to prepare for a degree.

Understand and analyse the role of religion in conflicts and peacebuilding in present-day societies, with this free online course.

Course description

6 weeks

Many conflicts in the world today are framed in terms of religion, but there is much discussion and confusion concerning the precise role religion plays in these conflicts. According to some, conflict and violence are inherent to religion. Others claim that religion is only the guise under which social, economic or political conflicts are fought out. The first step to solving religiously framed conflicts is understanding the role of religion in them, and that is what this free online course is about.
Our point of departure is that religion means different things in different circumstances and to different (groups of) people. Therefore, the aim of this course is to show how a religiously framed conflict can be studied in the wider cultural and political contexts of these conflicts. In the course material, we will refer to various religious, cultural and political settings. In addition, we invite you to engage in some modest research activities in your own environment and compare your own findings with those of fellow students.
In the first two weeks, we will discuss how the concepts of religion, conflict and violence have been understood historically and cross-culturally, and address the question of how they are linked. This will enable you to move beyond thinking about religion as either an unavoidable cause for conflicts or merely an excuse to mask more mundane conflicts of interest.
The third week focuses on the question of why religious conflicts have appeared to increase in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. During the fourth week, we will analyze case studies like conflicts over abortion policies in the United States and the rise of IS in the Middle East. In week five, we will shift our attention to the role of religion in peace building and reconciliation.
The course concludes with an assignment in which you will apply your newly acquired analytical tools to write a briefing paper on the role of religion in a specific conflict situation of your own choice.
After completing this course, you will have acquired the knowledge and analytical skills to develop critical insights into one of the most urgent issues of today’s world: the various roles of religion in conflicts.

Definitions and history of religion and conflict.
Links between religion and conflict.
Failure of nation states, the Cold War and globalisation.
Cases on religion and conflict.
Religion and peacebuilding.

Describe the historical development of definitions of religion
Identify the various factors that contribute to religiously framed conflicts
Assess present-day religiously framed conflicts in their historical, socio-cultural and political contexts
Identify core texts in the study of religion and conflict
Critical reading skills for analysing complex scholarly texts
Explain complex ideas to a general audience

This course is designed for undergraduate learners who are interested in analysing the relationship between religion and conflict from a social scientific perspective. Although anyone with an interest in the subject can join.

University of Groningen
The University of Groningen is a research university with a global outlook, deeply rooted in Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands.

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Prerequisites & Facts

Religion and Conflict

Course Topic

Crime and Criminology, Politics & Society, Religion

University, College, Institution

University of Groningen

Course Skill Level

see course summary

Course Language

English

Place of class

Online, self-paced (see curriculum for more information)

Degree

Certificate

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Degree & Cost

Religion and Conflict

To obtain a verified certificate from Future Learn / University of Groningen you have to finish this course or the latest version of it, if there is a new edition. The class may be free of charge, but there could be some cost to receive a verified certificate or to access the learning materials. The specifics of the course may have been changed, please consult the provider to get the latest quotes and news.

University of Groningen

Religion and Conflict

provided by Future Learn

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