The Spirit of Peace
11th Annual John D. Stratton Conference
Saturday, March 21, 2026
The Ashland Center for Nonviolence (ACN) at Ashland University hosted the 11th annual John D. Stratton Conference on Friday and Saturday, March 20-21, 2026. This year’s theme was “The Spirit of Peace.”
This conference explored 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 conference was kicked off on March 20 by an inter-religious panel discussion, and there was an all-day academic conference, featuring a series of presenters and workshops across disciplines on March 21.
Past Conferences
Peace through Peaceful Means
