Abstract
The intellectual landscape of Europe bears the marks of a long history of cultural perceptions of, and scientific approaches to, religions. The sciences of religions had to establish their autonomy from churches and theologies. However, the cultural context and the institutional set-up of ‘laïcité’ did not foster the development of comparative religion, much less comparative theology. However, this situation may have an advantage: it should discourage the exercise of comparative theology as a sectarian endeavour apart from broader anthropological perspectives and concerns. Comparative theology should not become the last refuge for religious nostalgia. In Europe, interreligious relationships (and hence comparative theologies) should not be isolated from simple or more sophisticated forms of indifference, agnosticism, or atheism. The active presence of a non-religious environment as well as the growing interest in Buddhism, are challenges to comparative theology: its contents, its approach, its intended audience.
Highlights
The intellectual landscape of Europe bears the marks of a long history of cultural perceptions of, and scientific approaches to, religions
For the last fifty years or so, Buddhism, more than any other tradition, has attracted the attention of a growing and significant minority of Europeans. It is at the intersection of Buddhism and Christianity that much interreligious dialogue, philosophical debate and comparative theology develop and are likely to further develop across our continent
When taking into account its appeal to quite a number of Westerners, we are invited to consider, from the perspective of a Christian practice of comparative theology, some characteristics which are not usually included in our understanding ofreligion‘. Among those that appear more significant in the Western reception of Buddhism, let us mention briefly: its individual and global or cosmic dimension, while less attention is paid to intermediate rungs of the ladder, such as family or state: this suits rather well the individualism and the politicalweightlessness‘ of many Europeans today;3 its pragmatic approach rooted in the experience of the subject, with relatively little concern for metaphysical problems; a rather horizontal orimmanent‘ type of transcendance or realization; Some Buddhist authors do not hesitate to usetheology‘ in an analogical way
Summary
Long centuries Europe experienced the rather homogeneous society and culture of Christendom. Children growing up in the Near East or in India, for instance, soon become aware of the presence of other communities in their neighborhoods. They may know little about the beliefs and practices of those others. They are aware of other calendars and feast-days, of different dietary rules and perhaps dress-styles, of other places of worship. ̳Muslim scarves‘ and other such items soon generated endless controversies This lack of experience and the resulting lack of expertise could be quite understandable, were it not for the Europeans‘ itch to act as teachers to the rest of the world
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