When I started writing primarily about religion for the Tribune more than 20 years ago, it seemed more of a niche subject. Back then there was still the notion that your religion was private. And along with sex and politics, one should avoid discussing religion because it would lead to needless divisiveness and bad feelings. The world changed. Whole societies erupted into conflict with sides fervently driven by the unquestionable rightness of ones faith, with God, of course, ordaining the followers as the precious chosen. In the U.S., Christian fundamentalism emerged as a united force to change public policy through electing its loyal followers, who, then, believed they had a license to bring about the makings of a Christian theocracy.The news is relentless with the conflict du jour. A good example came this week with the Vatican excommunicating six nuns from the Monastery of Our Lady of Charity and Refuge in Hot Springs, Ark., because they would not renounce their longtime membership in the Community of the Lady of All Nations, also known as the Army of Mary, based in Quebec, Canada. The Armys founder, Marie-Paul Giguere, believes she is the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary. (www.arkansascatholic.org/article.php?id=1006). The nuns opted to bear the sting of the Catholic Church and keep on believing what they thought was right.So much of conflict revolves around human-distilled rules ascribed as Gods will. Dont join anything if you dont now and always buy the groups miracle origin and developed dogma.Of all places, Arizona State University became the fertile soil in 2003 for formation of the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict. It was one of President Michael Crows early projects when he came. He named Linell Cady as the centers director, and it has flourished. In fast order, it launched large and small efforts to study the nature of religious, ethnic and social conflict and has brought to ASU numerous international voices to lecture in those areas.Speaking on Oct. 11, for example, will be Michael Scheuer, a familiar face on CBS News, where he is a consultant, and a visitor on many other news shows. (He is about the only one who ever responds to questions with, Sir,. The former head of the CIAs Bin Laden unit soared in public interest for his books Imperial Hubris and Through Our Enemies Eyes: Osama bin Laden, Radical Islam and the Future of America. Scheur, whose next book is Marching Toward Hell: America and Islam After Iraq will lecture at 4:30 p.m. at the ASU College of Law Great Hall. His topic will be Two Steps Toward Hell: The Scare-Mongers, the Caliphate and Islamofascism. (www.asu.edu/csrc).The centers fall newsletter showcases how it used a Ford Foundation grant for a Difficult Dialogues initiative. It brought together some 16 ASU faculty from various department for yearlong workshops on religiously charged conflicts and finding models for alternatives to contentious conversations. The article notes that the university classroom brings together students and faculty with fervent religious beliefs. Because some especially function in the context of their faith and use it as a filter, they may well react passionately to whats said in class. A faculty member may be accused of bias in lecture material because of religious background, or discussions may be tepid because no one wants to venture near a discussion related to spiritual beliefs. Writer Roberta Burnett quotes project coordinator Garrett Batten, who said the program can serve as a national model for other schools seeking to develop the study of religion and conflict in curricula and the classroom.Said Delia Saenz, associate professor of social psychology, There is a tremendous amount of research that points to specific structured dialogue techniques that can move conflict-laden exchanges toward a reduction in intensity and an increase in understanding, even when participants dont ultimately agree. Saenz, who is the director of ASUs Intergroup Relations Center, added, These are tremendously important skills for the classroom as well as society at large.

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