Religion as a conflict driver in Ethiopia

Jörg Haustein, Associate Professor in World Christianities, led this project examining how religion interacts with ethnicity and other parameters in inter-communal conflict. Working for the Rift Valley Institute, this was part of a larger research facility on conflict in Ethiopia.  The work was funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and aimed to help foreign diplomats and policymakers understand the current conflict landscape in Ethiopia. 

Four Ethiopian scholars carried out fieldwork in four Ethiopian towns and in the capital, Addis Ababa. Findings were presented to the UK Embassy in Addis Ababa in March 2023. The outputs include a comprehensive literature review, reports from each fieldsite and a synthesis. Findings are also the subject of discussion in a podcast and will be published in peer-reviewed articles.  

About the researchers

Jörg Haustein joined the University of Cambridge in 2019.  He previously taught Religions in Africa at at the School of Oriental and African Studies (2013–2019), and Religious Studies and Intercultural Theology at the University of Heidelberg (2003–2013). He earned his PhD at Heidelberg with a study of Ethiopian Pentecostalism (2009), and completed his habilitation at the University of Heidelberg with a study of German colonialism and Islam in East Africa (2020). He is an active member of the Interfaith Research Forum.

View more information about Prof Haustein and his research (Faculty of Divinity website)