| Kenya's 2007 presidential election resulted in a shocking eruption of ethnopolitical violence, leaving thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced. Research indicates that Christian churches play an important societal role in peacemaking and social influence, yet this role is not fully understood. This dissertation explores how Kenyan churches near the "epicenter" of post-election violence influenced peacemaking efforts by examining leadership practices, peacemaking practices and contextual factors utilized between the 2007 and 2013 elections. An appreciative, crucial case study methodology provides the framework to examine three Kenyan church cases and contexts. Twenty-eight participants were interviewed from three unique churches, along with seven expert scholars, NGO workers and practitioners. Three research questions guided this study: 1. Do Kenyan church leaders influence peace? If so, how and why? 2. What are the practices and processes of church peacemaking? How do they compare to those revealed in the literature? 3. How do contextual factors including church size, geography, ethnic composition, and denomination affect peacemaking efforts?;In accordance with literature on grassroots peacemaking, results from this dissertation suggest that churches, termed "sanctuaries of peace," play a significant role as catalysts for grassroots peacemaking. Firstly, findings overwhelming affirmed the idea that leaders influenced peacemaking. They did so in five primary ways: modeling behavior, utilizing inclusive language, resisting political agendas, collective decision making, and spiritual leadership. Second, churches employed intentional peacemaking practices including prayer, preaching peace, refuge/aid, humaneness, and taking a non-partisan stance. While the majority of data supported a bottom-up peacemaking process, minority perspectives suggested influence was top-down. Finally, several contextual influences helped explain how and why churches influence peacemaking. First, large churches were considered safe havens for refuge/aid, as well as likely to have adequate resources to assist victims of conflict. Second, churches located along borderlines between ethnic groups appeared uniquely positioned to influence peacemaking. Third, churches with ethnically diverse leadership and membership promoted inter-ethnic relationships, leading to humaneness, forgiveness and reconciliation. Finally, in agreement with the literature, churches denominations were largely segregated ethnically, and sometimes perceived as partisan. Recommendations for research and practice are given, including the need for leaders to model desired behavior, use inclusive language, employ biblical principles to promote peacemaking, and resist political agendas. |
