Only a few decades ago, “making peace” was the exclusive province of prime ministers and presidents. For instance, no NGOs offered to mediate between President Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Since the end of the Cold War, however, the popular definition of peace seems to have expanded — at least in the English language — to allow non-state actors to participate in peace-building projects. Along with avowedly secular organizations such as the International Crisis Group, religious communities have joined the growing collection of nongovernmental actors who are interested in building peace both locally and abroad. Religious groups are increasingly seeing their hitherto-unnoticed peace-building role in a more deliberate light. Many religious groups, and especially those associated with the Anabaptist tradition, are increasingly attempting to export their locally-proven conflict resolution methods internationally.

http://www.globalengage.org/media/article.aspx?id=2438