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Religion and the Ukraine Crisis: Four Key Questions

Date:06 March 2014
Author:Religion Factor
As the eyes of the world continue to focus on the crisis unfolding in the Ukraine, images are emerging from the conflict of religious leaders providing inspiration and blessing to participants from all sides of the conflict.

The struggle for justice of Dutch young Muslims in Syria

Date:06 January 2014
Author:S Klein Schaarsberg
“I am powerless. (…) Please do something. Do not forsake me and all the other mothers”. 18-year-old Robin converted to Islam one and a half years ago.

Travel Plans: Understanding Religion in Mali

Date:20 December 2013
Author:Christoph Grüll

Over the past few days, the planned UN peace mission to Mali has been covered in the news extensively. In this post Martijn van Loon analyzes the motivation for the Dutch government to participate in this mission, based upon the ‘artikel 100-brief’...

Race and the study of religion: ’West’ and ‘East’, or White and non-White?

Date:18 December 2013
Author:Religion Factor

The Religion Factor post on 28 November 2013 – Religion and International Relations (IR) Theory  -posed a challenge to IR scholars to be more self-reflexive in their understanding of religion and secularism. Such self-reflexive thought challenges dominant...

Humanity in Action: Religion, Human Rights and the Question of Neutrality

Date:13 December 2013
Author:Religion Factor

In today’s blog post,Brenda Bartelink reflects on aid in humanitarian emergency and disaster situations, drawing attention to how religion and human rights are lived out and practiced amidst the multiple moral frameworks that influence humanitarian...

The Neoliberalization of Youth Peacebuilding

Date:12 December 2013
Author:Christoph Grüll

As part of our series on human rights for Human Rights Week, in today’s post Erik Meinemainvestigates how the neoliberal context in which NGOs and peacebuilding organizations operate influence their capacity to protect and promote human rights through...

Religion and Human Rights: The challenges of universalism and cultural particularism

Date:10 December 2013
Author:Religion Factor

Tuesday 10 December 2013 is World Human Rights Day, marking the 65th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly vote to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In recognition of this milestone, this week The Religion Factor features a...

A secular saint? The Life and Legacy of Nelson Mandela

Date:09 December 2013
Author:Religion Factor

The inevitable moment of Nelson “Madiba” Mandela’s departure from this world came last Thursday evening, 5 December. Given that he had been so frail for some time, his death was not unexpected, yet that does not lessen the impact of his loss. As South...

Religion and International Relations Theory

Date:28 November 2013
Author:Religion Factor

On Tuesday 26 November 2013, NGIZ Noord and the Centre for Religion, Conflict and the Public Domain at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies in Groningen co-hosted an evening devoted to a discussion of dominant approaches to religion in the study...

Sinterklaas, Zwarte Piet and the Ethics of Public Debate

Date:15 November 2013
Author:Religion Factor

Sinterklaas and his somewhat controversial helper Zwarte Piet arrive in the Netherlands tomorrow, marking the start of the festive season. In today’s post, Erik Meinema and Erin Wilson offer thoughts from both Dutch and non-Dutch perspectives on various...