Religions and Peace Studies

Editors

Alessandro Saggioro [+–]

Sapienza University, Rome

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Alessandro Saggioro is Full Professor in History of Religions and member of the Department of History, Anthropology, Religions, Arts, Performing Arts of Sapienza University. Faculty member since 2007, he is leading or supervising research and teaching projects related to religious pluralism, mediation, peaceful coexistence. Director of the PhD Course in History and Cultures of Europe of Sapienza University and delegate for this University in the Italian network of Universities for Peace (https://www.runipace.org/), he is also editor-in-chief of Studi e Materiali di Storia delle Religioni and of the related book series Quaderni di SMSR. Books recently edited: with C. Russo: Roma città plurale. Le religioni, il territorio, le ricerche, Chi siamo – Storia delle religioni 48, Bulzoni, Rome, 2018; Definire il pluralismo religioso, Morcelliana, Brescia, 2020. His interests and publications include teaching, methodology and Historiography of the History of Religions, religious conflict and coexistence, religions of Ancient Mediterranean, religions, law and politics, identity, mythology and peace studies.

Peace and religion intertwine and, since they are crucial to all human cultures, they require a more and comprehensive analysis to be understood beyond all the clichés that portray religions either as warmongering or peace-promoting factors.

Dealing with peace and religion means navigating the concepts of border and boundary, identity, alterity, and diversity, questioning the role of historical narratives in conflicts and their resolutions.

This book series explores the nexus between peace and religion, providing a reference tool for interdisciplinary, diachronic, and comparative research approaches. Furthermore, it aims to collect and develop scientific analyses dealing with all types of sources, such as sacred texts, literature and art, symbols and musealized objects, official documents about peace issued by governmental and non-governmental institutions, historical records, and many others. Also, a variety of sub-topics are included, all revolving around the peace-religion axis and ranging from ecology to sustainability, from migration to gender issues, and from economy to literature and art.

The interdisciplinary dimension of the book series is grounded in a discursive approach to conflict and (re)conciliation through the languages of history, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, law, literature, and arts. The time span covered is broad and encompasses past civilizations and empires and their legacy, up to the dislocation and crisis of their memory in the present.

Finally, one of the most significant challenges of this book series is to make room for a consistent reflection on the history of the study of religions and peace and the methodological approaches scholars have adopted over the centuries to shape the discipline.