Berkley Center

This film guide is a learning resource for Pray the Devil Back to Hell, a 2008 documentary film following the religiously inspired women’s peace-building movement that played a key role in pressuring rebels and the Charles Taylor regime to end Liberia’s Second Civil War (1999-2003). Key themes in the documentary include religious justifications for peace activism, the use of religious ideas and networks for mass mobilization, and differences between female religious mobilization at the grassroots level and the political voice of patriarchal religious authorities. This guide includes a synopsis of the film, historical context, a list of key terms, discussion questions, and list of recommended further readings. This film guide is appropriate for use with the Berkley Center’s Religion and Conflict Case Study Ending Liberia’s Second Civil War: Religious Women as Peacemakers.