Interreligious dialogue is an often-neglected part of the tool kit of peacebuilding and conflict resolution. It involves religious leaders in a hybrid function as diplomats trapped somewhere between the secular and religious realms. But religious peacemaking is not for everyone. Who is involved and what are their motivation? Unlike professional diplomats religious leaders have no formal attachment to state politics but represent a religious organization of some kind -a church, a congregation, a religious NGO. What informs their commitment to peace, and how do they understand their contribution? In this article, we distinguish between theological and political peace dialogues, and trace the underlying moral and social concerns that motivate the religious entrepreneurs who initiate and moderate interreligious dialogues for peace. Informed by the observation that religious diplomacy is not for everyone, we develop a model of different religious sensibilities on a scale from those who see interreligious dialogue as a meaningful religious engagement on the one end, and on the other we find those who see every encounter with 'the religious other' as an opportunity to "tell the Truth". Underlying each position we find specific religious values and different attitudes to politics and man's position in the world. Our aim here is not to give a comprehensive account of religious actors in peacebuilding but to contribute to a better understanding of the participants in interreligious dialogue. What we find is that religious diplomacy is inspired by a kind of personal motivation which is entangled with particular worldviews and understanding of religion.
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