What Does Political and Religious Healing Look Like in Contested Space?
Rev. Breanna Illéné, Director of Ecumenical Innovation and Justice Initiatives
Jumping on a plane and heading to Northern Ireland was not on my list of plans for 2024, but when I was given the opportunity to travel with the Carter Center for a retreat entitled, “What Does Political and Religious Healing Look Like in a Contested Space?” it felt important to say yes. A group of religious leaders and former politicians spent a week learning about the conflict and asking what we can learn and apply to our context in the United States.
As we began to learn the history of the conflict and the peace process in Northern Ireland, I realized just how complex the situation was. I had learned about the Good Friday Agreement and peace process, but the stories I learned on this trip showed just how hard this process was and how tenuous the peace in Northern Ireland is. The story is far from over. Though most of the violence has ended, it has taken time to get here. 2023 was the first year that did not have a death related to the conflict. We visited the separation walls and learned that though plans were made to remove them, many had, in fact, increased in size following the peace agreements. We saw murals and monuments that put the hurt and current tensions on full display.
We learned on this trip about the long work of peacemaking. We heard stories of many back-channel conversations that moved in the direction of peace. Often the most disagreement and conflict about moving forward took place with people who were supposedly on the same side. We heard stories of small, prophetic actions that had gigantic reverberations. One story that struck me was about a Protestant pastor apologizing for a rock thrown through a Catholic girl’s window. This created tensions among his own people, but when a peace center trying to bridge divides was opened on the protestant side, it was that Catholic girl who was the first to walk through the doors. His small actions opened a door to a larger conversation.
So what does this mean for us in the United States? One of the biggest realizations I had was that we don’t need to wait for a full-fledged conflict to begin this work. There is already political violence happening in the US. In Northern Ireland, the violence was mostly concentrated in poor communities and among young people (though elites were involved in the conflict, certain communities were disproportionally victims). I see parallels in our country. We need to stop asking, “What if there is political violence?” recognize it is already happening, and ask what steps we can take to mitigate it. Throughout the week, Dr. Miguel de la Torre’s “theology of hopelessness” kept coming to mind. He teaches that rather than sitting in a privileged space of hoping for a solution, hopelessness forces us to face reality and move towards praxis. We need to start working for peace now and I’m bringing a few ideas with me to do this work:
Curiosity and Complexity—When we don’t understand, we often make assumptions and conflict increases. What if we started asking more questions, especially in moments when we feel our anger rising?
Relationship matters – So many relationships have broken down in recent years. If we want to repair the fabric of our country, we need to do the hard work of relationship building. This is long, slow work that doesn’t make headlines but is at the core of resolving conflict.
Not Everything Needs to Be Public – Are there ways you can have offline conversations with people you publicly disagree with? Building relationships across difference does not (and can’t) always be public. Sometimes it has to happen privately first.
Small Actions Add Up—Sometimes, the most powerful work starts with small actions, which can add up to massive change. What are small steps you can take today in your community to bridge divides?
Grace – Our faith teaches us the concept of grace and this is something that our world desperately needs. How do we model grace towards others in hopes that it can spread throughout our world?
These are just a few initial reflections from this trip (I still haven’t even recovered from the jet lag!). I know that I will continue to unpack the learnings for some time to come. If you’d like to see some photos and commentary that I shared during the trip click here.
We will soon be launching a campaign entitled “Loving Your Neighbor in an Election Season”. I’ve been saying that polarization is great for political parties but terrible for our communities. We at the Wisconsin Council of Churches are committed to walking with you this year as we work to hear God’s voice and cultivate communities of love, grace, and peace. We will want to work with you to develop tools that can work in your context. Feel free to reach out to me for a conversation. Let us do this work together.
