Conversations among scholars and policy circles regarding global engagement with religion often celebrate the diversity of religious and cultural traditions for promoting peace and development. However, if scholarship merely addresses the question of "What works?", it risks becoming complacent and fails to envision new possibilities. This focus on immediate utility can hinder critical analysis and the pursuit of justice-oriented outcomes. While religion may occasionally aid peacebuilding, it does not inherently lead to decolonial justice or challenge global hegemonic structures. The discourse surrounding pluralism, termed the "harmony business," has been part of Western colonial narratives since the late nineteenth century. Instead of serving as a prophetic force, religion and peace practices often function as bureaucratic instruments. A decolonial critique is essential to dismantle the harmony business, which frames interreligious understanding as a means of peace and security, revealing its ties to colonial history. This analysis advocates for an intersectionality that resists the separation of religion from the histories of racialization, emphasizing the need to reconceptualize religion within the context of peace practices.
