The UN University for Peace (UPEACE) was established in 1980 by the United Nations General Assembly in Costa Rica. It was created to promote education, research, and training for peace, conflict resolution, and human security worldwide. UPEACE has since developed graduate programs and global partnerships focused on building sustainable peace.
The course “Perspectives of Religion and Society” is part of the 2025–2026 program of the Master of Arts in Religion, Culture, and Peace Studies. It is sponsored by the Pontifical Lateran University, the World Jewish Congress and the Muslim World League and it is the first and only program of UPEACE that has a focus on religion.
Dennis P. Petri is a political scientist, researcher, and international consultant, with extensive experience in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He has worked in academic and policy roles for various universities, international NGOs, and multilateral organizations. Currently, he is Professor in International Relations and Humanities at the Latin American University of Science and Technology of Costa Rica. He also lectures at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO-UNESCO) and The Hague University of Applied Sciences. He has been a visiting scholar at the University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands), the Interamerican Center for Social Security Studies, Bar-Ilan University (Israel), and Regent’s Park College, University of Oxford (UK). Furthermore, Petri holds the position of International Director at the International Institute for Religious Freedom, where he leads two major data collection projects: the Violent Incidents Database and the Global Religious Freedom Index (in partnership with the Religion and State Project at Bar-Ilan University). He is also the Executive Director of the Foundation Platform for Social Transformation and the founder and scholar-at-large of the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Latin America.