Learning from Another Religion: Some Methodological Reflections

Abstract

Abstract What does it really mean to learn from another religion? What exactly does it involve or take to do so? Is “theology without walls” possible in the sense of a theology willing to learn from any source without regard for confessional boundaries, or is theology locked up within the walls of a confession? If learning from another religion or confession is possible, how does such learning affect one’s own religion or confession? This essay presents eight methodological theses that spell out the conditions under which interreligious learning can become compelling and fruitful. Drawn from a lifelong career of theological and religious scholarship and practice, these theses build on both scholarship from Western philosophy and religious studies as well as East Asian cultural and religious traditions.