All we are saying is give religion a chance

Pope Benedict XVI thinks the Middle East could use a little more religion. Not the religion that divides - the kind he practiced when he suggested that Islam was a religion of the sword, or when he re-sanctioned an ancient Good Friday prayer which calls on God to illuminate the hearts of the Jews that they might recognize their savior Jesus Christ - but the kind that binds members of the human family to one another.

(Click here for an interactive guide to the pope's visit)

During his recent meeting with Muslim leaders in Jordan, the Pope commented that in an age when religion is misused and maligned as a force of discord, it is imperative that religious practitioners live in accord with the highest virtues of their faith.

The Pope also stated that one of the main purposes of his pilgrimage is to help advance the cause of peace: "We [the Catholic Church] are not a political power, but a spiritual force, and this spiritual force is a reality that can contribute to advances in the peace process." The Holy See explained that he plans on promoting peace by encouraging mass prayers, awakening the world's conscience, and promoting a reasonable (i.e. two-state) solution to the conflict.

Perhaps the idea that a "spiritual force" can contribute to peace sounds a little puzzling. A typical secular Israeli reply could be, "Thanks but no thanks. We appreciate the good intention (and boost in tourism), but we have had enough spiritual forces to last a lifetime."

Indeed, a repeated charge in the discourse over the Arab-Israeli conflict is that religion plays a central role in exacerbating and perpetuating the conflict. The conclusion being that removing religion from the scene will go a long way in solving the century-old conflict.

A somewhat comical example of this position comes Marwan Kanafani, special adviser to the late Yasser Arafat, who in 1994 replied to a question about the place of religion in the Oslo peace process by stating:

"The way to take care of religion in the dispute is to put the sheikhs in mosques, the rabbis in synagogues and priests in churches, and then lock the doors behind them and throw the keys away in the sea - they can only interfere with the process."

This is a seductive but ultimately wrong-headed position. Religion can (and must) play a positive role in the peace process. All the more so in the Holy Land, where religion actually matters. A lot.

From left: Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Pope Benedict XVI, Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal, and Sheikh Taysir Tamimi at an interfaith meeting in Jerusalem on May 11, 2009. (AP)

For a significant number of people in the region, religion is a thick system of beliefs and practices that are intertwined with identity and values. It is common knowledge that for peace to succeed you need governments to make compromises and sign agreements, but you also need the will of the people. A purely secular argument in favor of peace will be less compelling than one that is also couched in religious terms and backed by religious authorities.

The popular Rabbi Eliezer Shach addressed this point when he quipped that his objection to the Oslo accords was not based on any religious prohibitions on returning land, rather he objected to Oslo because it was conceived and carried out by "rabbit eaters."

But what about all the horrible crimes that have been committed in the name of religion? Doesn't religion by its very nature foster exclusivity and violence? Can the beliefs and practices of religion actually be conducive to peace?

Without whitewashing the atrocities done in her name, it is important to remember that the religious imagination has also brought forth some of humankind's most arresting moral, aesthetic and intellectual achievements. The 20th century alone, hardly a religious century, boasts the likes of Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Malcolm X, Desmond Tutu, Mother Theresa, and Abraham Joshua Heschel. The moral greatness of these individuals was not despite of their religiosity but precisely because of it.

At its best, and that is what we should focus on, religion engenders its followers with a sense of wonder and respect for God's creation. The religious perspective recognizes the inviolability of a life made in the image of God. It therefore makes moral claims which aim to transcend individual and group ego-centrism and challenges us to act with compassion towards others.

Crucial for peacemaking, the religions of the region each acknowledge the human capacity to inflict and receive pain - physically and emotionally - and through models of reconciliation (such as forgiveness rituals) each provides us with time-tested and indigenous methods of peacemaking.

Whatever differences there are to be found among the world's great religious traditions (and these need not be ignored), most share a basic and positive worldview about the nature of the universe and our purpose in it.

The Pope echoed this idea in Jerusalem when he told a conference of prominent Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders that, "Together we can proclaim that God exists and can be known, that the earth is his creation, that we are his creatures, and that he calls every man and woman to a way of life that respects his design for the world."

Of course, ecumenical unity alone will not bring peace, but given proper space to express itself, it can be employed as a handmaiden for reconciliation and coexistence. The true meaning of the word religion, derived from the Latin ligare, is to bind and connect us together. In this sense of the word, and this sense only, we may join the Pope in saying that the Middle East could indeed use a little more religion.

Roi Ben-Yehuda is an Israeli writer based in New York. He is a regular contributor to Haaretz and France 24. His blog, RoiWord, can be read here