Interreligious Relationships Research Articles

Does Education Increase Interethnic and Interreligious Tolerance? Evidence from a Natural Experiment

We use both census and survey data to show that a large school building program from Indonesia causes improvements in inter-ethnic and inter-religious relationships. Our generalized difference-in-differences estimates suggest that receiving more education causes an increase in interethnic and interreligious tolerance as measured by survey questions. In addition, we use Indonesian census data to show that the schooling program caused an improvement in a behavioral measure of inter-ethnic relationships: we find an increase in inter-ethnic marriages by about 14 percent as a result of the program. We demonstrate robustness of results and show that the common trend assumption is satisfied. Subsequently, we shed light on several mechanisms: first, treated individuals are more likely to migrate, to live in cities and to work in occupations outside of agriculture. This in turn, increases their incomes and the religious and ethnic diversity of their social environments. Second, we employ an additional identification strategy to show that the educational content under Suharto emphasizing the national unity of Indonesia is an important mechanism underlying the estimated treatment effects.

The Interethnic and Interreligious Values in Turkish and Crimean Legends

The present paper examines interethnic and interreligious values in Turkish and Crimean folk legends. The folklore of both Crimea and Turkey has a multicultural background, which makes both corpuses of texts suitable for research. In the course of the study, a wide range of published Turkish and Crimean legends were reviewed and analysed. There are two deeply-rooted tendencies in the studied legends. First of all, the interethnic and interreligious relationships can be described as ghastly and cursed. Thus, antagonists in the legends are often from ethnic minorities or strangers in relation to domestic ethnic groups. However, if the texts are analysed thoroughly, we can see that there are important sacred cultural values at the core of the legends, including values of life, health, and divinity.

The experience of race in the lives of Jewish birth mothers of children from black/white interracial and inter-religious relationships: a Canadian perspective

In this paper, I discuss my life history study on experiences of race in the lives of Jewish-Canadian and Jewish-American birth mothers of children from black/white interracial, inter-religious relationships. Opening with a reflection on my personal experience and what compelled me to undertake this research, I then provide a short introduction to attitudes about interracial/inter-religious relationships found in the literature, followed by an introduction to my research methodology. Finally, I compare and contrast the experiences of three Jewish-American mothers, excerpted from their published narratives, and the experiences of two Jewish-Canadian mothers from two recorded interviews, with my own experience. I conclude this paper with a brief summary of the emerging themes in my research and how they add to our understanding of mothering across racialized boundaries.

Comparative Theology and Religious Studies in a Non-religious Environment

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.

Memory, Experience and the Clash of Cosmologies: The Encounter between British Protestant Missionaries and Buddhism in Nineteenth Century Sri Lanka

This paper examines the encounter between Protestant missionaries and Buddhists in nineteenth century Sri Lanka as a case study that illustrates the importance of situating twentieth century postcolonial inter-faith tensions against their nineteenth century precedents. The central question within this encounter concerns how Buddhists and Christians in nineteenth century Sri Lanka could reach a point where mutual demonization was deemed acceptable and appropriate. This paper argues that the key to this lies in a clash of cosmologies, codes of conduct and affective frameworks, informed by memory and experience, within the power relationships of imperialism. Using these categories, the paper examines what Buddhists and Protestant missionaries brought to their encounter with each other and then surveys the contours of the encounter throughout the century. It concludes that the Protestant missionaries enlivened within Buddhism, rather than created, a competitive paradigm of inter-religious relationships that continued into the postcolonial period.

The Particular Law of The Romanian Church United with Rome And the CCEO With Reference to Divine Cult And the Sacraments. Theological And Historical Premises (XVIIth-XVIIIth Centuries)

The Particular Law of The Romanian Church United with Rome And the CCEO With Reference to Divine Cult And the Sacraments. Theological And Historical Premises (XVIIth-XVIIIth Centuries) This study is meant to contribute to the understanding of the theological and the historical premises that stood at the basis of the codification activity carried on by our regional synods at the end of the nineteenth century, premises that, though relatively remote from a historical point of view, are sufficiently actual when regarded from the perspective of theological conceptualisation. The issue remains open to a more thorough study of immediate premises, such as the analysis of the theological formation of a forerunner of the above-mentioned synods, the canonist Iosif Papp Szylagy, the specific formation of each member of the theological commissions of those regional church reunions, or the eventual synod debates. The discussion can also be circumscribed to an ampler discourse, for example that referring to the confessional or the ritual identity. Since the studies on inter-confessional relations (religious life, for instance), and those concerning the inter-religious relationships in Transylvania, produced in the last 15 years, have focused almost exclusively on the national-social-cultural-historical relevance of those relationships, we find it crucial to start completing the already existing corpus with the consideration of theological-historical aspects.

Conversion, Renaissance and Hybridity: Cultural Perspectives on Dynamics of Inter-Religious and Intercultural Relationships

Right to freedom of faith is a natural right and not a conferred right. Every individual has a right to adopt and abandon any faith. Following the footprints of the international law enshrined in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the Constitution of India firmly secures this right in Articles 25 to 30 and thereby reflects the historical lineage and pluralistic society of India as the land that nurtured many faiths. Its heritage seems to have endorsed the wisdom of the enlightenment and transformation. Since the state of knowledge is continually under the process of transformation, awareness and enlightenment have an impact on the level of faith and conscience. However, one aspect of such freedom in Indian legal context is the problematic: the right to propagate one’s faith. There are two dimensions embedded here: one, the right to convert others to one’s faith and two, individual’s right to convert to any religion of his/her choice.In India, interfaith dialogue and the co-existence of diverse faiths have always been the feature.As a narrative and as factual evidence of living in interfaith dialogue along with hybridity of identity mediating the two different faiths, the paper elaborates on the personal experience of the author.As against this, today’s march of secularism with recent multiple indigenous connotation in free India ranging from dogmatism to diversity, is unacceptable to the abovementioned cultural heritage of tolerance and celebration of diversity along with syncretism.Today the dynamic being in a globalizing world, should be rethinking the exclusivist, inward looking, evangelizing, converting approach in the context of heightened intolerance in misplaced modernity where the modern devotee uses technology to further the violent agenda against the followers of other faiths. One should only spread the ‘message’, the enlightenment, as Buddha did in Saranath, as Christ did in his Sermon on the Mount and the ancient sages of Sanatana dharma did in Upanishads or as Ambdekar or Swami Agnivesh did in modern India.Respect for others is one among the many universals ‘filtered through various cultural traditions, speaking of a deeper subtle being of normative significance in ultimate and intimate reality’ which can still work, for all worldly manifestations whether in religion or culture or transformation or renaissance, in the ultimate analysis, reflect us.

Gender and the history of religion. New approaches and recent studies

The article consists of two parts. In the first it gives an insight into the historiography concerning gender and religion primarily in Austria and Germany since the 19th century for the last twenty years about. Researches on religious women’s movements are discussed exemplarily as well as the debate on the ‘feminization of religion’, which had an great impact on studies on religion in the last years. The second part of the text discusses religious conversions as an example for interreligious (gender) relationships taking into account the longlasting ban on interreligious marriages. The example concerns the conversion of the romantic Dorothea Schlegel, of her husband Friedrich Schlegel and her two sons of the first marriage (Philipp and Johannes (Jonas) Veit) and analyses the conversion narratives of her writings.

Toward a Christian‐Islamic Ecumenic Encounter

Abstract: Ted Peters’ framework for ecumenic engagement provides elements that will advance such an encounter with Islam. Applying several of Peters’ terms to interreligious relationships, Walter Wagner looks at various meetings between Muhammad and Christians contemporary to him. He cites the contacts between Muhammad and the first Muslim communities with Christians (610–632 AD) as both negative and positive paradigms for subsequent relationships. Wagner then points to Surah 1 as the key Quranic text for understanding Islam in relationship to Christianity. Reflecting on past efforts at dialogue and predicting what will be important future issues, Wagner stresses the intense religious nature of Islamic political‐social expectations and projects three factors for future ecumenic encounters between Islam and Christianity.

How do Conflict Situations Affect Our Faith Communities and Our Interreligious Relationships?

In the few years of great optimism leading up to the start of the second intifada in October 2000, I was charged with organizing a large conference which was to be held at my university, the theme of which was to be perceptions of the ‘other’ in the Middle East. The conference was supposed to involve members of all three monotheistic faiths, men of the cloth, as well as politicians, diplomats, people involved in education, in mass media from the region and from further afield.

Beyond tolerance: towards a new step in inter-religious relationships

In section I the author of this inaugural lecture (of the new Chair of World Religions for Peace at the University of Glasgow) seeks to clarify the meaning of ‘tolerance’ and argues in favour of its traditional understanding as tolerating what is disapproved. The necessity of practising tolerance in this sense is defended in section II. However – as is explained in section III – given this understanding of tolerance, the concept is no longer adequate to characterise the Christian attitude towards other religions, which has frequently started to move ‘beyond tolerance’ towards appreciation. Section IV closes with a brief discussion of those theological and christological presuppositions that are required in order to complete this move.

Beyond tolerance: towards a new step in inter-religious relationships

In section I the author of this inaugural lecture (of the new Chair of World Religions for Peace at the University of Glasgow) seeks to clarify the meaning of ‘tolerance’ and argues in favour of its traditional understanding as tolerating what is disapproved. The necessity of practising tolerance in this sense is defended in section II. However – as is explained in section III – given this understanding of tolerance, the concept is no longer adequate to characterise the Christian attitude towards other religions, which has frequently started to move ‘beyond tolerance’ towards appreciation. Section IV closes with a brief discussion of those theological and christological presuppositions that are required in order to complete this move.

Un Sud qui perd le Nord ? Les récents rejeux de la fracture tchadienne ("South" straying away from "North" ? A recent reactivation of the Chadian fault)

Abstract. - In Chad as in many sahelo-sudanese countries, the North/South divide, opposing muslim and non muslim areas, is a major geopolitical data. However, it doesn't explain by itself the complexity of the Chadian scene. Coming from the pre-colonial history, this opposition has been widen during the civil war affecting the country (1979-1982), when Northern leaders took over power from people of the South. Since then, the South is in crisis. The strengthening of islam affects the inter-religious relationships. In the Southern region of the country, the political change of 1979 goes with migrations from the north to the south. It results in conflicts, especially between peasants and pastors. By increasing the South 's weight in the national gross product, the oil exploitation project of Doba will be as much a threat for national unity as a chance for national development.

Book Review: A New Meeting of the Religions: Interreligious Relationships and Theological Questioning, Faiths in Conflict? Christian Integrity in a Multicultural World

Book Review: A New Meeting of the Religions: Interreligious Relationships and Theological Questioning, Faiths in Conflict? Christian Integrity in a Multicultural World

Towards a tripolar approach to the relationship between the religions

AbstractThis article emphasises the need for ongoing reflection on interreligious relationships. The author proposes that such reflection should take account of three religious realities (or 'poles'): (what is considered as) divine revelation, human religious experience, and the possibility of the demonic. On this basis, and with full respect for other people's religious commitments, it may be possible to move to a satisfying relationship between the religions.

Paul Knitter’s Theology of Religions: A Survey and Evangelical Response

Paul Knitter has become a figurehead of the increasingly popular theology of religions known as religious pluralism. The first half of this study traces Knitter’s theological journey to and through the pluralist paradigm. Focus will be given to Knitter’s current soteriocentric model. The last half of the article comprises an evangelical response, first, to the general foundations of pluralism, and second, to the central aspects of Knitter’s soteriocentric approach to interreligious relationships and dialogue. Specifically, Knitter’s ideas are be evaluated by submitting them to the two criteriological touchstones which he himself acknowledges: ‛Does it work’ (i.e., does his position actually foster authentic dialogue)?, and ‛Is it Christian’?

Examples of what klausner calls “good,” “mature” sociology of jewry

Professor Klausner is correct, I believe, in reminding us that one sign that we "have achieved a mature sociology of Jewry when scholars not otherwise concerned with Jewry study Jews as part of a strategy for elab orating general sociological concerns ..." He is also correct in asserting that one type of "good study of Jewry" is that which evokes "Jewish ideas ... [as] a basis for new general concepts which may be applied in the study of otherfs] ..." However, given his concern with more general issues, Klausner does not himself cite specific examples of any such "mature" or "good" sociological study of Jewry. There are some, of course. I shall discuss two: Steinberg's (1965) study of the rise of the Reform movement, and Herberg's (1960) analysis of interreligious relationships in the Unitied States. The former is an example of a "mature" sociology of Jewry in that it is a study of Jews that elaborates a general sociological concern. The latter exemplifies a "good study" in that it evokes ideas based on Jewish thought as a basis for general concepts applicable to groupings other than Jews.

Book Review: Courage for Dialogue: Ecumenical Issues in Inter-Religious Relationships

Book Review: Courage for Dialogue: Ecumenical Issues in Inter-Religious Relationships

Courage for Dialogue. Ecumenical Issues in inter-religious relationships. By S. J. Samartha. Geneva, World Council of Churches and Maryknoll, New York, Orbis Books, 1981. Pp. 157. £3.95.

Courage for Dialogue. Ecumenical Issues in inter-religious relationships. By S. J. Samartha. Geneva, World Council of Churches and Maryknoll, New York, Orbis Books, 1981. Pp. 157. £3.95.

Book Review: Dialogue and Community: Ecumenical Issues in Inter-Religious Relationships

Book Review: Dialogue and Community: Ecumenical Issues in Inter-Religious Relationships