The Problem of Causation in Studies of Religiously Inspired Actors: Tracing the Cause and Effect of Interreligious Dialogue and Peacebuilding in Post-Conflict Settings

This theoretical essay, inspired in part by the author’s own perplexities during fieldwork and post-conflict reconciliation efforts, draws on transdisciplinary studies of religion and peace science to trace the effects of religious actors and the causes of peace. The reoccurrence and determination of religiously inspired actors in post-conflict settings, where religion has historically influenced both war and peace, is rooted in the enduring effects of local religious systems. Yet the causes of these effects remain open questions. Answering them forces us to move beyond noting, for example, the interpretive association of religious actors and peaceful outcomes to inquiring whether and how religiously inspired actors cause peace. Since so much of contemporary peacebuilding depends on local religious leaders supporting peace efforts or re-traditionalizing rituals, scholars working in post-conflict settings often find themselves pulled into debates about the effects of religion on peace. An empirical task is therefore investigating the causal links between religion and peacebuilding, the effects of religious actors in their cultural context, and how to contribute to effective interreligious dialogue. To reach these ends, however, a theoretical path is needed. This essay offers such a path, firstly, by addressing faulty assumptions and residual problems in current scholarship, and, secondly, providing a pathway for making causal claims. That pathway includes aggregating commensurable data to distinguish sufficient-components in type and token cases, reconstructing the temporal order and likelihood of counterfactuals, and tracing biological universals and cultural knowledge from religious systems to peace events.