Interfaith relations and the global church

Abstract

Ever since early human beings were able to seek meaning and purpose in life, religious diversity has existed. Jesus and the early Church needed to navigate this reality as well. Through most of the five hundred year history of the colonial period, Western Christians neglected to address this question with the seriousness it requires, mostly because of a theological attitude of Christian superiority and triumphalism that accompanied the colonial movement. Notable exceptions include the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions convened in Chicago by a Presbyterian minister and chaired by a Swedenborgian layman, and the 1910 International Mission Conference convened in Edinburgh that gave birth to the modern ecumenical movement. This article will lay out the key theological touch points in the global ecumenical movement’s journey toward interreligious dialogue from 1910 to the present day. It will also offer a proposal for addressing challenges and promises of theological methodology if we were to take seriously the reality of religious diversity.