The Interfaith Imperative

Globally we seem torn between local, exclusive forms of religion, which can cause immense spiritual and physical damage to people, and a bland secularism that confines the religions to safe havens, each offering its own private options for "spirituality" within a secularized global politic. In this context the religions tolerate one another but cannot engage in mutually challenging and transforming dialogue. Thompson argues that it is only through dialogue that the distinctive truths of the faiths emerge. Moving beyond the threefold paradigm that has limited dialogue, and challenging modern secularism and postmodern relativism alike, he argues for a dialogue-based realism that is rooted in the Christian doctrines of creation and Trinity. Turning to recent theological approaches, Thompson both affirms and criticizes narrative and postliberal theologies, liberation theology, and the revival of negative theology. The transfiguration of Jesus provides a model for the way theology proceeds in dialogue, from an initial naivety, through metaphysical construction and deconstruction, to a new metaphorical "interillumination." Thompson sets forth a utopian hope for "the interreligious city of God, shining with the divine, interilluminative rainbow light reflected from the many faiths, including the secular faith."

Globally we seem torn between local, exclusive forms of religion, which can cause immense spiritual and physical damage to people, and a bland secularism that confines the religions to safe havens, each offering its own private options for "spirituality" within a secularized global politic. In this context the religions tolerate one another but cannot engage in mutually challenging and transforming dialogue. Thompson argues that it is only through dialogue that the distinctive truths of the faiths emerge. Moving beyond the threefold paradigm that has limited dialogue, and challenging modern secularism and postmodern relativism alike, he argues for a dialogue-based realism that is rooted in the Christian doctrines of creation and Trinity. Turning to recent theological approaches, Thompson both affirms and criticizes narrative and postliberal theologies, liberation theology, and the revival of negative theology. The transfiguration of Jesus provides a model for the way theology proceeds in dialogue, from an initial naivety, through metaphysical construction and deconstruction, to a new metaphorical "interillumination." Thompson sets forth a utopian hope for "the interreligious city of God, shining with the divine, interilluminative rainbow light reflected from the many faiths, including the secular faith."

What is dialogue? What are the goals of dialogue between faiths? Are they attainable? Are they compatible with Christian faith? This important book addresses the issue of dialogue from a different, even unique, perspective: as the relationships, in social and historical context, between faiths. David Lochhead first differentiates between several ideological stances (often categorized as simply "exclusivity" or "inclusivity") that have defined Christian attitudes toward other faiths. He considers the sociological as well as theological dimensions of these stances, concluding that a theology of interfaith dialogue "must ultimately be grounded in a theology of the world." Lochhead brings fresh insights to a reading of Barth on the theological significance of religion. He argues that, while generally considered otherwise, Barth's view is not inherently hostile to interfaith dialogue. Rather, Barth poses questions of the utmost importance to reconciling dialogue with Christian faithfulness. Based on this, Lochhead proposes a stance of "faithful agnosticism"--the refusal to make a priori valuations of other faiths--as the attitude most conducive to constructive interfaith relationships. Exploring the notion of dialogue as a means to truth Lochhead then discusses Plato and Buber from the dialogical perspective and addresses the question of whether a doctrine of revelation must be universalized in order to permit interfaith dialogue. After examining several views of the ultimate goals of dialogue (as understanding, as negotiation, as integration, or as activity) Lochhead concludes by explicating the import of the dialogical imperative for Christian theology and mission. A clear, concise treatment of the nature and goals of interfaith dialogue, The Dialogical Imperative affirms the dialogical approach from within the Reformed Protestant tradition.

Although its beginnings can be traced back to the late 19th century, the interfaith movement has only recently begun to attract mainstream attention, with governments, religious leaders and grassroots activists around the world increasingly turning to interfaith dialogue and collective action to address the challenges posed and explore the opportunities presented by religious diversity in a globalising world. This volume explores the history and development of the interfaith movement by engaging with new theoretical perspectives and a diverse range of case studies from around the world. The first book to bring together experts in the fields of religion, politics and social movement theory to offer an in-depth social analysis of the interfaith movement, it not only sheds new light on the movement itself, but challenges the longstanding academic division of labour that confines ‘religious’ and ‘social’ movements to separate spheres of inquiry.

This book features reflections by scholars and practitioners from diverse religious traditions. It posits that the global challenges facing humanity today can only be mastered if humans from diverse faith traditions can meaningfully collaborate in support of human rights, reconciliation, sustainability, justice, and peace. Seeking to redress common distortions of religious mis- and dis-information, the book aims to construct interreligious common ground ‘beyond the divide’. Organised into three main sections, the book features sixteen conceptual, empirical, and practice-informed chapters that explore spirituality across faiths and cultures. Chapter 1 delineates the state of the art in relation to interfaith engagement, Chapters 2–8 advance theoretical research, Chapters 9–12 discuss empirical perspectives, and Chapters 13–16 showcase field projects and recount stories and lived experiences. Comprising works by scholars, professionals, and practitioners from around the globe, Interfaith Engagement Beyond the Divide: Approaches, Experiences, and Practices is an interdisciplinary publication on interreligious thought and engagement: Assembles a curated collection of chapters from numerous countries and diverse religious traditions; Addresses interfaith scholarship and praxis from a range of interdisciplinary perspectives; Comprises interfaith dialogue and collaborative research involving authors of different faiths; Envisions prospects for peace, interreligious harmony in diversity, and a world that may be equitably and enduringly shared. The appraisal of present and future challenges and opportunities, framed within a context of public policy and praxis, makes this interdisciplinary publication a useful tool for teaching, research, and policy development. Chapter 16 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Thinking about ultimate reality is becoming increasingly transreligious. This transreligious turn follows inevitably from the discovery of divine truths in multiple traditions. Global communications bring the full range of religious ideas and practices to anyone with access to the internet. Moreover, the growth of the nones and those who describe themselves as spiritual but not religious creates a pressing need for theological thinking not bound by prescribed doctrines and fixed rituals. This book responds to this vital need. The chapters in this volume each examine the claim that if the aim of theology is to know and articulate all we can about the divine reality, and if revelations, enlightenments, and insights into that reality are not limited to a single tradition, then what is called for is a theology without confessional restrictions. In other words, a Theology Without Walls. To ground the project in examples, the volume provides emerging models of transreligious inquiry. It also includes sympathetic critics who raise valid concerns that such a theology must face. This is a book that will be of urgent interest to theologians, religious studies scholars, and philosophers of religion. It will be especially suitable for those interested in comparative theology, inter-religious and interfaith understanding, new trends in constructive theology, normative religious studies, and global philosophy of religion.

The first intellectual history of interreligious dialogue, a relatively new and significant dimension of human religiosity In recent decades, organizations committed to interreligious or interfaith dialogue have proliferated, both in the Western and non-Western worlds. Why? How so? And what exactly is interreligious dialogue? These are the touchstone questions of this book, the first major history of interreligious dialogue in the modern age. Thomas Albert Howard narrates and analyzes several key turning points in the history of interfaith dialogue before examining, in the conclusion, the contemporary landscape. While many have theorized about and practiced interreligious dialogue, few have attended carefully to its past, connecting its emergence and spread with broader developments in modern history. Interreligious dialogue--grasped in light of careful, critical attention to its past--holds promise for helping people of diverse faith backgrounds to foster cooperation and knowledge of one another while contributing insight into contemporary, global religious pluralism.

A close study of three of Soloveitchik's most influential disciples in Jewish thought and philosophy