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Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding in Rwanda

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The Palgrave Handbook of Religion, Peacebuilding, and Development in Africa

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Abstract

This chapter aims to provide a contextual analysis of Rwanda’s experience with the nexus of religion, conflict and peacebuilding in the context of Sustainable Development Goal 16, on “promoting peaceful and inclusive societies”. The chapter takes a historical perspective and focuses on the Christian religion. It discusses how the Christian religion contributed to Rwanda’s conflict since the arrival of colonial administration and Christian missionaries, with a destructive legacy during the post-colonial period that culminated in the 1990–1994 civil war and the subsequent 1994 genocide. It also played an important role in peacebuilding during the civil war and the 1994 genocide, particularly in their aftermath. The chapter concludes by depicting two faces of the role of the Christian religion in Rwanda’s conflict history and peacebuilding—as an actor with a potential for conflict and peace.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    All about the “Hamitic Hypothesis”, see Eltringham (2006), Berkeley (2001, p. 2581), Uvin (1998, pp. 30–31), Gourevitch (2000, pp. 50–53), Peterson (2000, pp. 258–59).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, Institute for Peace and Security, Coventry University, Coventry, UK

    Ezechiel Sentama

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  1. Ezechiel Sentama
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Correspondence to Ezechiel Sentama .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Maseno University, Maseno, Kenya

    Susan M. Kilonzo

  2. University of Zimbabwe, Mount Pleasant, Zimbabwe

    Ezra Chitando

  3. University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Joram Tarusarira

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Sentama, E. (2023). Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding in Rwanda. In: Kilonzo, S.M., Chitando, E., Tarusarira, J. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Religion, Peacebuilding, and Development in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36829-5_9

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