Abstract
Though the notion of vulnerability regularly pops up in Clooney’s reflections on comparative theology, he does not develop a systematic account of it. What precisely vulnerability is and how it influences interreligious dialog do not receive enough theoretical grounding. In this article I will probe the complexity of this notion and how it plays out in comparative theology. This will not only enable us to grasp the true originality of Clooney’s project, it will also allow us to uncover its deeper ethical dynamics. For, as I will seek to show, at its core, comparative theology is moved by an ethical concern to enable a just relation between the one’s own tradition and the foreign one. It is my intention to unfold the deep moral dynamics of this particular interreligious approach and to conceptualize the ethical conditions for interreligious learning as present in comparative theology.
Highlights
Vulnerability is one of the key words in Francis Clooney’s comparative theology project
Religions 2012, 3 liberal pluralism and postliberal particularism can be seen as exponents of a desire for control, comparative theology can be regarded as a form of vulnerable theology
The fundamental issue in the theology of religions today is the ongoing discussion between liberal pluralism and postliberal particularism on both the possibility and desirability of interreligious dialog
Summary
Vulnerability is one of the key words in Francis Clooney’s comparative theology project By placing this notion at the center of his approach, he wants to propose an alternative to the classic theology of religions, which he criticizes for putting up a wall between believers belonging to various religious traditions. Instead of searching for some philosophical and/or theological vantage point above that messy reality, he operates within a fragile hermeneutical and theological space in the midst of the complexities of interreligious encounter His engagement with the religious other begins with reading and comparing “non-Christian religious texts” whose wisdom he appropriates through submission. In this article I will probe the complexity of this notion and how it plays out in comparative theology This will enable us to grasp the true originality of Clooney’s project but will allow us to uncover its deeper ethical dynamics. What precisely is vulnerability? How does it relate to its opposite, invulnerability? How do both notions affect the ethical relation between one’s own tradition and the foreign one?
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