Uganda: Religiously-Inspired Insurgency

Abstract

This case study examines the different roles that faith has played in inspiring, exacerbating, and ameliorating the uprising of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) against the Ugandan government. The core text of the case study provides an overview of the conflict along the lines of five questions: What are the historical origins of Uganda’s ethnic and religious divides? How do religious factors and themes influence the insurgency? How important are international religious and political forces? What role did socioeconomic factors play? How did religion intersect with these other factors in driving outcomes? The Ugandan case study also features a timeline of key events, a guide to relevant religious and nongovernmental organizations, and a list of further readings.