South Sudan is a country that originated from the throes of conflict with religious overtones. Yet the constructive role of religious leaders during the new fighting that began more than a month ago is a reminder that they can play a critical part in getting the country back on a path to peace. 

20140128-Religious-Unity-Can-Help-Heal-South-Sudan-TOB.jpg
Residents in Yei in central Equatoria State, South Sudan, march for peace in front of a Catholic Church. Photo courtesy of Reconcile International

In mid-December, when it became clear that a meeting in Juba of one of the ruling party's decision-making bodies  was exposing tension and contained the risk of violence, national-level religious leaders of several denominations drew on the impending Christmas season to call for peace through the holiday. The hope was that the holy season in a now-predominantly Christian country could provide a pause to address the growing political rifts.    

Heated violence nevertheless followed within the military ranks in Juba and spread nationwide, including armed clashes and ethnic targeting. The main conflict has occurred between supporters of President Salva Kiir and his challenger, ousted Vice President Riek Machar, and between their ethnic groups, the Dinka and the Nuer, respectively. Observers estimate that the number killed will far exceed 10,000, and a half million people have been forced from their homes because of the fighting.

Yet in many cases, religious leaders and their congregations opened their churches and homes to those at risk, no matter their ethnic group. Clergy also helped bury bodies and shared food and basic necessities like water, regardless of the affiliation of those in need. The empathy of church leaders for the vulnerable has been consistent. Their unity in calls for peace and compassion instead of violence has been steady. 

Religious leaders traditionally have played a unifying role in southern Sudan since the 1965 formation of the Sudan Council of Churches, through the 1989 spin-off of the New Sudan Council of Churches to serve the southern areas specifically. In 1999, religious leaders helped shepherd the historic civilian peace and reconciliation conference in Wunlit, Bahr El Ghazal. That meeting brought together Dinka and Nuer groups who had been fighting each other on the West Bank of the Nile River in the face of a common enemy, the northern government in Sudan.  After the conference, clergy helped solidify the new unity with a grassroots dialogue in places like Jonglei state in the east.

Religious leaders in southern – and now South -- Sudan close a gap that no other actors can fill, binding South Sudanese across ethnic, religious, geographical and political boundaries. Far beyond ministering to those in need, churches are often important meeting points, particularly in towns that are ethnically and religiously diverse.  Churches can play a special convening role. And religious institutions can convey accurate and timely information to large crowds of listeners, their parishioners. 

In addition to their convening and information-sharing role for average citizens, religious leaders are trusted interlocutors and intermediaries and have access to the eyes, ears and minds of the elites, the spoilers, the politicians, and the armed factions.  Religious leaders effectively form a "tribe" of believers that reaches across political and ethnic boundaries. 

Beyond encouraging armed actors to put down their weapons, religious leaders can make critical contributions to monitoring any agreement that comes from political negotiations and in ensuring that its impact reaches to the grassroots.  Once security is established in the aftermath of a ceasefire, religious leaders can beat the drum for peace and conduct genuine dialogues convening government, traditional leaders, and broadly diverse civil society representatives so the nation can build up a common political will to deal with outstanding issues. Radio programs also could be enlisted to broadcast religious leaders conveying information and reassuring their followers about the complex and challenging process of building peace.

Religious leaders can help hold accountable the leaders who sign ceasefire pacts and other agreements, by quickly reporting indications of insincerity and signs of continuing violence. Although their calls for calm in mid-December were not heeded, the clergy have pursued their work behind the scenes and at the local level, not only in aiding victims of violence but also by mobilizing peace efforts.

Religious leaders witness on a daily basis the devastating effects of violence on lives and livelihoods, and can help leaders and citizens walk the path back to reconciliation and forgiveness. They are powerful forces for encouraging their flocks to stop the cycle of violence and retaliation, and instead focus on restoring relationships and rebuilding fragile trust. 

Othow Okoti Abich Onger is participating in USIP's Sudanese/South Sudanese Youth Leaders program in Washington. Jacqueline H. Wilson is a senior program officer in USIP's Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding.

Related Publications

The Latest @ USIP: Women’s Role in the South Sudan Peace Process

The Latest @ USIP: Women’s Role in the South Sudan Peace Process

Monday, January 9, 2023

By: Rita Lopidia

When South Sudan achieved independence in 2011, many South Sudanese women hoped it would lead to improvements on gender and security issues. In the years since, recurring civil conflict has unfortunately delayed these aspirations — but as with the independence movement, women have been at the forefront of the country’s resurgent peace process. Rita Lopidia, executive director of the Eve Organization for Women Development and the 2020 recipient of USIP’s Women Building Peace Award, discusses how South Sudan’s national action plan on women, peace and security helped guide women’s involvement in the revitalized peace agreement as well as how her organization is working with both men and women on gender and peacebuilding issues.

Type: Blog

GenderPeace Processes

South Sudan’s people have spoken on peace. Is anyone listening?

South Sudan’s people have spoken on peace. Is anyone listening?

Friday, April 16, 2021

By: Ola Mohajer;  David Deng

The United States played a key role in the emergence of South Sudan as an independent state 10 years ago. Yet today, U.S. policy toward the country is insufficient to address the continued violence or promote sustainable peace. Even so, it is not too late for U.S. policymakers to embark upon a renewed push for peace. To move forward, they should listen to what South Sudan’s people said in the recently concluded National Dialogue and incorporate its recommendations in diplomatic, humanitarian and development strategies for the country.

Type: Analysis

Mediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

Conflict and Crisis in South Sudan’s Equatoria

Conflict and Crisis in South Sudan’s Equatoria

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

By: Alan Boswell

South Sudan’s civil war expanded into Equatoria, the country’s southernmost region, in 2016, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee into neighboring Uganda in what has been called Africa’s largest refugee exodus since the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Equatoria is now the last major hot spot in the civil war. If lasting peace is to come to South Sudan, writes Alan Boswell, it will require a peace effort that more fully reckons with the long-held grievances of Equatorians.

Type: Special Report

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

View All Publications