The Spirit of Peace
11th Annual John D. Stratton Conference
Saturday, March 21, 2026
In order to foster interdisciplinary conversations around peace and nonviolence, the Ashland Center for Nonviolence invites proposals for the 2026 John D. Stratton Conference, centered on the theme: “The Spirit of Peace.”
This conference will explore how spiritual, religious, and contemplative traditions understand, articulate, and display peace commitments. While many contributions to peacemaking arise from political, legal, and scientific efforts, enduring global movements have often drawn their deepest strength from spiritual sources: practices of prayer and meditation, prophetic traditions, rituals of healing and forgiveness, and visions of interconnectedness and beloved community.
The Science of Peace
10th Annual John D. Stratton Conference
The Ashland Center for Nonviolence (ACN) at Ashland University hosted the 10th annual John D. Stratton Conference on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21-22, 2025. This year’s theme was “The Science of Peace.”
Through the development of “The Science of Peace,” the conference leverages the strengths of a variety of disciplines in an effort to bring about a broader range of effective approaches to building a peaceful world. It aims to help transform how we understand and practice peacemaking, moving beyond traditional boundaries and opening new pathways for research, education and action.
The conference was kicked off Feb. 21 with a keynote speech from Matthew T. Lee, Ph.D., director of the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science. He presented “What Is Ecosystem-Wide Flourishing and Why Does It Matter to Peace?”
On Feb. 22, there was an all-day academic conference, featuring a series of presenters and workshops across disciplines.
Past Conferences
Peace through Peaceful Means
