Contrary to the secularization thesis, many societies today are experiencing a revival of religion. Although religion performs different functions in diverse religious communities and in individual lives, in the media and public discourse it is increasingly associated with concepts such as extremism, violence, and fundamentalism. Thus religion is more and more seen as a threat to democratic and secular societies. In public debates religions have often been perceived as being less a solution to the problem of violence and more as being part of the problem. For this reason, religious leaders and organizations are urged to make their potential contributions to world peace transparent and tangible, because a conscious commitment to peace is essential in view of the current global situation. Peace education has always informally been part of a network of socio-political developments, pedagogical aims, historical narratives, and practical community activities. One challenge to peace education in today’s globalized, diverse, religiously pluralistic and mobile world is to be able to take both complex global and relevant local situations into account. weiterlesen