\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 An article in the Summer 2011 issue of Conflict Resolution Quarterly investigates the long-held tenet that mediators should not bring religion into the conflict resolution process, and concludes that it\u2019s time to change our stance on this topic. In \u201cGod in the Process: Is There a Place for Religion in Conflict Resolution?\u201d, authors Rachel Goldberg and Brian Blancke consider the standard objections to acknowledging religion, countering that, because faith dimensions are critical to both understanding and engaging the conflict, \u201cignoring religion is no longer an option.\u201d For example, religion introduces values into the process, but values are not negotiable, so it is traditionally been held that, \u201cif it\u2019s not clearly negotiable, it\u2019s not in the realm of conflict resolution.\u201d But the authors note that conflict resolution processes can still help parties understand one another\u2019s different values, not to negotiate an agreement but to recognize that \u201cwe can deeply disagree with one another without violence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They also challenge the traditional notion that religion undermines the mediator\u2019s neutrality and risks the parties\u2019 right to self-determination. Concern about a mediator imposing her values on the process is valid, but it\u2019s a leap to conclude that mediators therefore should never bring up religion. As most mediators readily acknowledge, the idea that the mediator is value-lessly neutral is an illusion, so mediators\u2019 moral values already shape the process — and that may be a good thing. And, while religion has been used to destroy and divide, it can also be used to build and unite.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The article observes that the disciplines of psychology and law have already done a lot of work on this topic of how to include religion to unify rather than divide, and the field of conflict resolution would do well to borrow from them. For example, psychology recognizes that therapists\u2019 spiritual beliefs may affect their practice, and recommends self-disclosure as the means to protect and guide the client.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The authors\u2019 concern about introducing religion in mediation seems to be limited to cases where the parties are of different religions, and\/or the mediator is of a different religion than a party. Only in passing do they mention the numerous conflict resolution programs available to people within a religious group, who wish to incorporate their shared spiritual beliefs into resolution of their dispute. While noting some little-known programs, they overlook Peacemaker Ministries, the largest Christian dispute resolution organization. (Instead, they mention something called \u201cthe Christian Mediation Network,\u201d an organization I\u2019ve never heard of, although I\u2019ve been in this field for decades; a google search comes up empty, so I have no idea to what they are referring.)<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Still, it\u2019s heartening to hear mediation practitioners recognize what Christian mediators long have known: we humans are spiritual beings. Our spiritual beliefs may have gotten us into conflict, and they may help us get out, so mediators who recognize this truth, and incorporate it into their practice, are more likely to help parties reach full and lasting resolution of their conflicts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 An article in the Summer 2011 issue of Conflict Resolution Quarterly investigates the long-held tenet that mediators should not bring religion into the conflict resolution process, and concludes that it\u2019s time to change our stance on this topic. In \u201cGod in the Process: Is There a Place for Religion in Conflict Resolution?\u201d, authors Rachel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":836,"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33\/revisions\/836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}