Volume 3, Issue 1 (2019) Special Issue: Religion, Politics, and Peacemaking

When the two of us (Dr. Joe Okumu and Dr. Ron Pagnucco), with the support of our respective institutions, created the Journal of Social Encounters (JSE) in 2017, we were not sure of how well it would be received. We are happy to say in this our third issue (2019) that the JSE has been well received. Indeed, we are happy to report that we have received a number of very good essays, and consequently will publish two numbers in 2020 -- one, (Issue 4, No. 1) in January 2020, and one (Issue 4, No. 2) in August. 2020. We invite authors to send essays for possible publication in January or August. Please do remember that all essays undergo a peer-review process, and essay revisions may be necessary for publication in the JSE. As for the issue that you find before you, we are very pleased to have our first Special Section, a guest-edited collection of essays on a specific theme. The essays for the Special Section were presented at a conference on "Religion, Politics and Peacemaking," which was co-sponsored by Haigazian University, located in Beirut Lebanon, and the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning and the Department of Peace Studies, both at the College of St. Benedict/St. John's University, located in Collegeville, Minnesota, USA, where the conference was held. Also in this issue are other good essays and book reviews that we are sure you will find interesting and informative.