The university announced the opening March 13 of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, a new center intended to promote dialogue about the role religion places in political policy around the world.

Tom Banchoff, a government professor and the program’s director, said that the center would work to foster discussions and scholarships in topics of religion and world affairs, which would ultimately promote global peace.

“The Berkley Center will provide a bridge between the interdisciplinary study of religion and efforts to advance inter-religious understanding in practice,” he said.

The program was conceived in 2003 by University President John J. DeGioia and the Board of Directors, and was created with a grant from board member William R. Berkley.

“The idea was that we hear so much about religion fomenting war and so much about ideas of anger and hate coming from religious leaders,” Berkley said. “The idea of religion and peace in world affairs I thought was something that [the] world needs to be reminded of.”

Banchoff said that the center has already begun its Undergraduate Fellows program, which allows students to study religion and political affairs.

Elizabeth Augustine (SFS ’07), one of the 10 students in the Undergraduate Fellows program, said that her group is currently working on an investigation of the cooperation between religious and secular groups in humanitarian assistance and other development work.

Banchoff said that the center is also considering programs designed for faculty members, such as research grants and postdoctoral fellowships. It held a faculty seminar on religion in cultural globalization last week and is planning two more seminars.

He added that the center will work with various student organizations and other centers and programs around campus, such as the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and the Program for Jewish Civilization.

“The center is part of a university-wide effort to make Georgetown a global leader in the study of religion and world affairs,” Banchoff said.