![]() Religions laid many of the foundations of IHL, and still possess the influence and moral authority to back it up. This article will argue that the interface between religion and IHL is considerable, and that these limitations can be alleviated, and adherence to common humanitarian norms improved, by more energetic engagement with religious circles, thereby reconnecting IHL to its religious roots. This affects how it is perceived, and therefore its legitimacy in many contexts. ![]() ![]() Though great strides have been made to disseminate IHL in recent years, it is still relatively little known or understood in societies at large, and across cultural and religious divides. 3 Inevitably, IHL is also largely dependent on the States who are party to its treaties, and tends to privilege their interests over non-State actors who are not. ![]() The will and capacity of belligerents to follow IHL rules in the extreme circumstances of armed conflict are often severely compromised. While the modern edifice of IHL is a remarkable achievement, and probably the most effective means so far developed to regulate armed conflict, it nevertheless has understandable limitations. Nowhere are the limitations of the law more apparent than in the arena of war, and the implementation and enforcement of international humanitarian law (IHL) in anarchic and politically contested conflict zones is a perennial challenge. In view of all this, why could not advantage be taken … to solve a question of such immense and worldwide importance, both from the humane and Christian standpoint? Men who take up arms against one another in public war do not cease on this account to be moral beings, responsible to one another and to God. I would also like to thank Professor Kate Crosby, Irénée Herbet, Daniel Ratheiser and Lauren Armstrong for reviewing earlier drafts, and Peter Evans for a helpful conversation about military culture. * I would like to thank Bruno Demeyere, the Review’s Editor-in-Chief, for encouraging me to write this article, and Dr Noel Maurer Trew and the Review’s peer reviewers for their helpful input and comments. Introspective religious practices encourage the moral self-reflection that is most effective at internalizing norms in this respect, as well as providing belligerents with the spiritual and psychological support needed to bolster their resilience and enable them to perform with precision and restraint. In the absence of a strong legal enforcement regime, religions can reinforce military ethics by tapping deeply into the identities, motivations and moral values of many belligerents, and possess powerful means to socialize the rules of war and improve voluntary compliance. This is most effective when comparative study of IHL and religious teachings stimulates mutual learning and debate, in which both correspondences and differences are embraced. Engagement with religious circles mobilizes the vast resources of religions to increase knowledge of IHL and corresponding religious norms, thereby enhancing their legitimacy across religious and cultural divides. It examines some of the challenges inherent in regulating armed conflict and the understandable limitations of IHL in this respect, and argues that re-engagement with IHL's religious roots can help to alleviate them. This article explores the interface between religion and international humanitarian law (IHL), and the degree to which they might complement and reinforce each other.
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