PCR Project Event | Religion and U.S. Foreign Policy

The PCR Project hosted an event, featuring Craig Charney and Rodney Petersen to address recommendations from our report, "Mixed Blessings: U.S. Government Engagement with Religion in Conflict-Prone Settings," released in July 2007.

The session was divided into two parts:

1. Charney discussed his company's recently completed three-country study in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia on the origins of extremism. Conclusions from the forthcoming report underline the role of rejection of Islamic pluralism, hostility to other religions, and belief in violence in support for jihadi terrorism by some extremists. The goal of this session was to broaden awareness and discussion of the fundamentals of extremist, religiously-oriented ideology.

2. Dr. Rodney Petersen designed curricula for the training of religious professionals in dealing with conflict situations. We asked that he share how his experience might work in the reverse, for training U.S. government employees in conflict zones on sensitivity to religious issues.

In working with these two components together, we explored root causes and how conflict professionals, armed with this type of understanding, can best be trained for working in environments where a keen understanding of religious dynamics is essential.

If this interests you, keep your eyes peeled for our next event focusing on reccomendations from our Mixed Blessings report!