Dozens of senior Anglican bishops and other church leaders have signed up for a new course in “conflict management” designed to help them resolve doctrinal disputes without descending into schism.

One aim of the course is to equip leaders of the Church of England in particular with the psychological tools to deal with the conflict over gays before they go head-to-head with each other at next summer’s Lambeth Conference.

The course, titled Conflict Transformation among Christian Leaders with Different Theological Stances, is being targeted at Christian leaders who preach a creed of peace and love to governments and other faiths, but turn into pugilistic bullies when it comes to issues such as homosexuality.

Cambridge University has enrolled dozens of church leaders from six denominations for the intensive three-day courses, which will begin early next month. Dozens of church leaders, including some of the UK’s most senior Anglicans, have enrolled for the lessons on how to speak to each other in a “positive and constructive manner”, even when they can barely stand being in the same room, or church.

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BACKGROUND

• Gay weddings flourish in a religious stronghold

• Pope to discuss influx of Anglicans

• US Church pledges not to consecrate gay bishops

• Bishop defects to Catholic Church in gay row

BACKGROUND

• Pro-gay agenda pushes Church closer to schism

• Archbishop of Canterbury's 'secret gay communion'

• Archbishop faces clash over gay marriages of 50 priests

The sessions, to be run in groups of four or six bishops, will be closely monitored - presumably to make sure the clerics do not come to blows.

It is hoped that the course, being run by Cambridge University’s Psychology and Religion Research Group, will eventually be rolled out to Muslim faith leaders as well.

Academic research has shown that without special training, dialogue does not resolve but merely perpetuates conflict.

“Conflict is generally not handled well within the Church,” said Dr Sara Savage, the senior researcher who has developed the course with a colleague, Dr Eolene Boyd-MacMillan. “That can apply to minor, everyday disputes at the congregational level, just as much as it can apply to sweeping and contentious issues, such as the Church’s stance on climate change.

“Even minor disagreements can leave church members in a state of bitterness and resentment that jeopardises spiritual growth among believers and standing in the community. Worse, instead of the churches being contexts for grace and loving challenge, they can become arenas for bullying, blaming and scapegoating.

“Without a structured approach, the tensions underlying conflicts tend to build and develop the potential to leave people deeply wounded and to tear churches apart.”

She said the aim was to create a “holistic learning opportunity”.

The course is being funded by the Foundation for Church Leadership. “The focus of the programme is on resourcing leaders for creative and innovative responses, especially to issues on which there are apparent irreconcilable differences,” said Dr Boyd-MacMillan.

“Our view in designing this course was that if the gospel is about reconciliation, then we should embody it as we deal with conflict. Christians will never agree on everything, but they should be able to handle their differences in ways that are positive rather than poisonous. Our hope is that the church can take a leading role in reducing the destructive effects of conflict.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is among those invited to take part. Lambeth Palace declined to comment on whether he would be doing so.