Religion has the power to be both a force for peace and a weapon of war. Most religious actors want to be part of a solution to conflict rather than part of the problem.
We are excited to introduce our new training toolkit on the Common Ground Approach to Religious Engagement.
Click to read “Overview: The Common Ground Approach to Religious Engagement”.
The field of religious engagement is developing rapidly, as NGOs, policy makers and security experts around the world recognize the importance of engaging religious actors in peacebuilding processes.
While the training was primarily produced to provide common ground training in religious engagement to Search’s field-based practitioners around the world, we’ve seen great interest in the resources from outside the organization. We are therefore delighted to share the training materials below.
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The two-day training is structured into eight learning modules that cover topics such as: What is religious engagement? Who are religious actors and how do we engage them in peacemaking? How do we engage multi-sectorally, and include women and youth? How religiously literate are we? What is the best way to design, monitor and evaluate religious engagement initiatives? Resources include an overview of Search’s approach to religious engagement, a facilitator guide, a participant workbook, and PowerPoint presentations.
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The training, which is relevant and accessible across regional contexts, adopts an experiential approach to learning, and includes activities, case studies and discussion prompts. It guides the participants to examine their own experiences and identities, and how they may or may not color their approach to engaging religious actors from different religions. It also highlights the benefits of inclusive and collaborative approaches as the most effective way to engage religious actors and bring about enduring change. Finally it encourages the early identification and mitigation of risks while ensuring a Do No Harm approach.
This training curriculum was produced by the Search’s Religious Engagement Unit with generous support from the GHR foundation.
Click below to download the training materials:
 English Version French Version Arabic Version |
 English Version French Version Arabic Version |
 English Version French Version Arabic Version |
 English Version |
Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) Special Module
 Facilitator Guide |
 Power Point Presentation |
Other publications:
Religion’s Role in Building Inclusive, Peaceful Societies
COVID-19 & Religious Engagement
Interreligious Collaboration in Peace and Conflict
Bridging the Divides: Interreligious Diplomacy for Effective Peacebuilding
Towards Youth Leadership of Freedom of Religion or Belief
