Catholic Theology and Other Religions

Abstract

This chapter considers Catholic theology’s response to non-Christian faiths. It argues that the ‘theology of religions’ is not a locus of theological reflection distinct from Christology or Trinitarian theology or others, but one that asks the questions in a particular context. At the same time, the theology of religions is an act of Christian discipleship, in which Christians encounter those of other faiths and reflect on how we may discern the work of the Spirit beyond the bounds of the visible Church. The chapter pursues this argument by considering the Second Vatican Council’s Nostra aetate, the relationship between dialogue and mission, the phenomenon of ‘comparative theology’, and the relationship between dialogue and discipleship.