This public lecture draws on Prof John Brewer’s recently published book, Monotheism and Peacebuilding. Brewer will address the opportunities and constraints operating on monotheistic peacebuilding, focusing on the three Abrahamic faiths, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, which share a common origin. These opportunities and constraints are approached through what the volume calls ‘the paradox of monotheism’. Monotheism is defined by belief in one omnipotent, benign and loving God, but this God does not or cannot prevent violence, war and conflict. Moreover, monotheism can actually promote conflict between the Abrahamic faiths, and with other world religions, giving us the puzzle of holy wars fought in God’s name. Brewer will outline the paradox of monotheism and its implications for monotheistic peacebuilding; then address the peacebuilding efforts of three Abrahamic monotheistic religions and the constraints that operate as a result of the paradox of monotheism.  This paradox tends to limit monotheistic peacebuilding to inter-faith dialogue, which often does not go far enough.

The book is available from the publisher and from Amazon

JOHN BREWER

John Brewer is Professor Emeritus in the Senator George J Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice at Queen’s University Belfast. He was awarded an Honorary DSocSci from Brunel University and is a Member of the Royal Irish Academy, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a Fellow in the Academy of Social Sciences and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He has held visiting appointments at Yale University, St John’s College Oxford, Corpus Christi College Cambridge and the Australia National University. He has been President of the British Sociological Association. He is Honorary Professor Extraordinary at Stellenbosch University, Honorary Professor of Sociology at Warwick University, and a member of the United Nations Roster of Global Experts. He was the recipient of the British Sociological Association’s Distinguished Service to British Sociology Award in 2023. He is the author or co-author of eighteen books and editor or co-editor of a further six. He is also Series Editor of two book series.

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