Marty promotes conversation to deal with conflict within religion and public affairs
By Rachel Smeda

“Nobody pays attention to religion until somebody kills somebody.”

That was one of Dr. Martin Marty’s points during his presentation, “Fighting Fair: Conflict and Conversation on Religion and Public Affairs,” at 12 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 27. Marty spoke to a packed house in Memorial Union’s Mark Twain Ballroom about fighting taking place in political and religious realms and about his solution.

When it comes to disagreements, Marty is a strong supporter of conversation.

“Arguments are guided by an answer; conversations are guided by a question,” Marty said.

Marty hopes that someone walking away from a conversation won’t think, “Well, I won that,” but that they encountered some new ideas and now have a wider perspective.

Martin put down the common assumption that since everybody seems to be saying something different, it’s not worth trying to explore options and then choose a mindset to adopt. On the contrary: disagreements breed creativity as people holding different views work to explain those and to understand others.

Intolerance, a watchword in today’s society, was another topic that Marty addressed. Marty said this word is weak now due to both overuse and incorrect usage. Some people upholding tolerance expect everyone else to be just as purposely unbiased or even ignorant as them. Some “tolerant” people just don’t know where they stand.

Some controversies simply can’t be avoided, according to Marty. The issues we hold close to ourselves, such as our beliefs about God, sexuality, family, education and the like, naturally stir us to strong emotions and opinions.

One reason for greater controversy lately is the growth of technology.

“Ancient ideas tagged to new technologies are creating some big changes,” Marty said.

Marty taught religious history for 35 years at the University of Chicago. He is the author of over 50 books. He is also a public speaker, columnist, pastor and teacher.

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