International Summer School for Bachelor and Master Students

Religious Conflicts and Coping Strategies  

25. - 29 August 2025, Bern, Switzerland
Organized by the IFK Religious Conflicts and Coping Strategies

Many conflicts, present and past, are perceived and problematized as religious. But what does it exactly mean to call a conflict “religious”? This Summer School offers an opportunity to explore a new model for a context-sensitive analysis of the role religion can play in conflicts. It also introduces the concept of coping strategies for conflicts involving religion.

The analytical model and the concept of coping with religious conflicts was developed by an interdisciplinary research group based in Bern. It outlines the various economic, political, social, cultural, historical and psychological factors which contribute to conflicts as well as their respective relationships to religious convictions, motivations, protagonists, teachings and rituals.

Through problem-based case studies and interdisciplinary engagement, the students will learn to use this analytical model and evaluate various coping strategies for specific religious conflicts. The Summer School comprises keynote lectures held by high-profile researchers, workshops to train and sharpen students’ competence with analyzing the role of religion in conflicts and coping strategies, a workshop on intercultural learning, a visit in the worldwide unique Bernese “House of Religions” and a final one-day seminar with presentations by the students.