News Release
October 2005

Symposium at Moravian to Explore Issues of Religion and Conflict

Bethlehem, Pa. October 12, 2005—Moravian College and Moravian Theological Seminary will co-sponsor a symposium focusing on peacemaking, “Religion and Conflict: Cause and Effect, or Problem and Solution?” on Thursday, November 10. This timely and important program will include a simulation exercise called “The Case of ‘Palmyra’” from 3 to 5 p.m., followed by a keynote lecture by Dr. David R. Smock, and a panel discussion with leaders from various faith traditions in the Lehigh Valley from 7 to 9 p.m. “Religion and Conflict” will examine the factors that cause conflict between religiously-affiliated groups and the elements of faith traditions, and communities that can resolve conflict and create peace in today’s world.

Smock is the director of the Religion and Peacemaking Initiative of the United States Institute of Peace. For more than 30 years he has studied African issues, an endeavor which has taken him to Ghana, Kenya, Lebanon, and Nigeria. He has served as director of the South African Education Program, vice president for program development and research for the Institute of International Education, executive associate to the president of the United Church of Christ, and executive director of International Voluntary Services. He has also worked for the Ford Foundation. Smock holds a Master of Divinity degree from New York Theological Seminary as well as a doctorate degree in anthropology from Cornell University. His is the author of Pacifism: Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Views on Nonviolence and International Conflict, Religious Perspectives on War, and Religious Contributions to Peacemaking (in press) as well as editor of Interfaith Dialogue and Peacebuilding.

To register for the program, complete the registration form on the Seminary’s website at www.moravianseminary.edu, or mail the registration form enclosed in the seminary’s Continuing Ed Program 2005-2006 Catalog. To request a catalog or further information, call Millie Román-Buday at 610-861-1519. Those in attendance will receive 0.4 Continuing Education Units.