A Renewed Research Agenda to Address Global Religious Violence and Foster Religious Pluralism

The ability of religion to both unite and divide us is a central research topic across academic disciplines. There is important research on the conditions of religious pluralism and tolerance, violence and discrimination, yet disciplinary silos and disconnects between the academy and the public remain barriers to progress. To investigate these problems, we convened 56 scholars of religious pluralism and conflict from different national contexts over a two- year period and conducted focus groups around three broad questions: What are the key issues in defining religious pluralism and religious conflict? What are the most salient contexts in which to study religious pluralism and conflict, both geographically and institutionally? What tensions and opportunities are most important for advancing public scholarship on religious pluralism and conflict? We find that (1) religious pluralism is best conceptualized as an active interreligious engagement that honors differences, (2) achieving research clarity and focus requires specific interdisciplinary dialogue and tools, (3) identifying the conditions under which pluralism and conflict thrive demands diverse methods across sub-national, national, and global contexts, and (4) scholars must engage policymakers, religious leaders, and religious communities to advance religious pluralism. This study provides critical parameters for a future public facing research agenda.