Panel: BUILDING PEACE AND EQUALITY: MULTI-FAITH THEOLOGIES AND PRACTICES CHALLENGING A VIOLENT, UNEQUAL WORLD



474.7 - PEACE THEOLOGIES FROM BELOW: GRASSROOTS INTERRELIGIOUS COLLABORATION AND THEOLOGIES OF PEACE IN NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA

AUTHORS:
Gladwin R. (Palm Beach Atlantic University ~ West Palm Beach ~ United States of America) , Feyas E. (Palm Beach Atlantic University ~ West Palm Beach ~ United States of America) , Moya C. (Palm Beach Atlantic University ~ West Palm Beach ~ United States of America)
Text:
How do theological commitments to peace take shape in the everyday practices of local interfaith communities? This paper examines the Alachua County Faith Leaders Alliance (ACFLA), a coalition of twenty religious leaders representing Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Baha'i, Buddhist, and other traditions in Alachua County, Florida, as a case study in grassroots theologies of peace. Drawing on qualitative research, the study explores how ACFLA members narrate and enact commitments to peace through shared practice rather than formal doctrinal dialogue. Preliminary findings reveal three interrelated dynamics. First, ACFLA functions as a relational infrastructure in which trust across religious boundaries is cultivated through shared meals, visits to sacred spaces, and collaborative crisis response. Drawing on Carl Rogers' concept of experience, shared meanings of peacebuilding emerge through lived engagement rather than abstract theological agreement. Second, participants consistently report that interreligious encounter deepens rather than threatens their own faith commitments, suggesting engagement with other traditions prompts meaningful intra-faith theological reflection. Drawing on Teun van Dijk's theory of discourse and context, the analysis attends to how participants interpret encounters through complex layers of social meaning shaped by local and broader cultural forces. Third, the Alliance demonstrates how concepts such as reconciliation and hospitality, each from distinct theological histories, can be translated into a shared civic vocabulary that sustains collective peacebuilding without erasing theological difference. These findings suggest that living theologies of peace are forged not in academic or ecclesiastical settings but in the relational and civic practices of communities navigating pluralism together. By attending to these grassroots sites, scholars can enrich the field's understanding of how peace is not only conceived but practiced across traditions.