Religion: A Missing Component of Professional Military Education PKSOI Paper | Page 26

sulting in less religion; the effect appears to be just the
opposite. Religion is on the rise, globally.48
Religion fills the social service gaps left by failed
and failing states. When governments no longer
maintain the capacity to govern, the only institutions
available to address a population’s human needs are
religious.
The many roles played by religion are complex
and cannot be captured in simplistic descriptions. A
focus on religion as a mono-causal factor of conflict
and violence detracts from the identification of other
possible, secular causes.49 The goal is to move away
from religious versus secular thinking50 to an acceptance and management of the secular and sacred sharing the same public space. The developing field of religious peacebuilding continues to be “challenged by
secular biases.”51 The sacred remains ambivalent; it is
our responsibility to animate it as a partner for conflict
prevention and resolution.52 Linking religion to PSO is
a new approach to peacebuilding.
U.S. Army View of Religion in Peace and Stability
Operations
Shortly after arriving at the U.S Army’s Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute as a Visiting Research Professor, a senior commissioned officer
asked me about my research and areas of academic
focus. I explained to him that over the past several
years, I have been engaged in research and teaching of
the role of religion in peacebuilding; specifically, the
positive roles that religious actors can play in addressing conflict in fragile states. The officer listened to my
overview of activities, and then politely asked, “Do
we need that expertise here?” My predecessor told me

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