Religious pluralism as an ideal exists around the world, flourishing under certain conditions of state, cultural and grassroot-level support. To do so, it requires active engagement, according to a new research paper from Rice University’s Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance.
Religion has been both a central source of violent conflict in the world and a mechanism for humanitarian efforts, according to the paper. And most people are religious. Research shows that between 76% and 88% of people around the world identified with a religion as of 2020. The four largest groups — Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists — comprise about 75% of the world’s population. That number is expected to grow to more than 80% by 2050 with some estimates suggesting the number will be closer to 90%.
“From international clashes over religion in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Sudan to recent attacks on mosques, synagogues and churches in the U.S., there are plenty of examples of religious violence and strife,” said Elaine Howard Ecklund, the Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences, Boniuk Institute director and first author of the study.
“Religion has also been a central source of peacemaking in the world. We have examples of the role of Black church leaders in the American Civil Rights Movement and the influence of Jainism and Hinduism on the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi,” said Kerby Goff, the paper’s second author and the Boniuk Institute’s associate director of research.
“That religion can be implicated in both violence and peacemaking has generated not only debate but also significant research. Scholars have been understandably interested in how conflicts around the world are linked to religion, and yet there are important reasons to expand and intensify this research on the conditions under which religion leads to conflict and hostility or to peace and religious pluralism.”
The paper, published in Religions, uses data on scholars’ own opinions to argue for the most effective ways researchers could understand the conditions under which religion brings people together but also pushes them apart. Researchers across different fields have studied religious tolerance, diversity, conflict and discrimination, yet experts often work in separate “silos” and their ideas don’t always reach the public.
The team at the Boniuk Institute brought together 56 scholars from different countries over two years to focus on this question and more. They found that researchers need to intentionally collaborate across disciplines, study different contexts (from local to global) and work closely with policymakers, religious leaders and communities to understand religious violence and pluralism.
“Overall, the key idea is that research should not stay in academia. It needs to connect to real-world efforts to reduce conflict and support religious understanding,” said Aishwarya Lakshmi, associate director of operations for the institute and co-author of the study.
“Another issue the scholars pointed out is a kind of elitism that can show up in academia,” Ecklund said. “Sometimes researchers will avoid engaging with the public or the media because it means simplifying complex ideas for a broader audience, and they worry that this might ‘water down’ their work. But this hesitation can actually limit how far their research reaches and how much impact it has.”
Based on what they learned, the paper argues for more research in the area, especially when it comes to goals, methods and how findings are shared with the public. In short, the future of this field depends on research that is not only rigorous but also connected to real-world conversations and decision-making.
View the entire article, and learn more about the Boniuk Institute’s work toward religious pluralism.
Funding: The convenings were funded by Templeton Religion Trust ( TRT-2023-32989); Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance, Rice University; and Rice Global, Rice University.