Multireligious World Research Articles

Identity and solidarity in a pluralist society:

In his recent book Protestants (2017), historian Alec Ryrie argues that while Dietrich Bonhoeffer may have been “the bravest theologian of his generation”, the impact of his prison writings and his opaque vision of a “religionless Christianity” in a world come of age was disastrous for mainstream Protestantism in the United States in the second half of the twentieth century. Ryrie’s analysis of the trajectory of Western liberal Protestantism needs to be nuanced by a more critical and contextual reading of both cultural processes of pluralisation and Bonhoeffer’s prison writings. Still, Ryrie’s sweeping claim goes to the heart of the question about the “usefulness” of Bonhoeffer’s thought and witness for the future of Christian discipleship and engagement in an increasingly post-Christian and multi-religious world. Can Bonhoeffer’s legacy assist Christians to negotiate the delicate balance between identity as disciples of Christ within faith communities and solidarity with people of other faiths or no religion affiliation?

Man as a “Work of Art”: The Religious–Dialogical Dimension of Education as a Path of Education for Beauty/Goodness

Aiming to establish a dialogue with modern man, who lives in a culture marked by great challenges, church documents put a great emphasis on the via pulchritudinis. The via pulchritudinis, i.e., the way of beauty, is considered to be a privileged way of achieving dialogue. Awareness of the importance of beauty, in close connection with goodness and truth, is increasingly present in the theological and the religious–pedagogical thought. One of the specific questions related to education for beauty refers to the education of a person who is called to transform his or her life into a “work of art”. This paper reflects on only one specific aspect of the issue of shaping human beauty/goodness, that is, people’s “humanity”, in connection with the challenges of increasingly complex coexistence in diversity. Globalization and migration trends, primarily by complicating life together/coexistence, pose certain challenges to man as an individual, as well as to the entire society, especially the challenge that is coexistence of different cultures and religions. Since these problems also penetrate school classrooms, education systems are expected to provide appropriate responses. The paper consists of two parts. In the theoretical part, two specific fundamental issues related to the education of a person’s “humanity” in the atmosphere of “conflict culture” are considered: the issue of comprehensive education following the ancient connection of beauty and goodness, as well as the issue of education for coexistence. The second part presents the results of the research which was carried out in the Republic of Croatia and which aimed to examine the presence of curriculum content that enables the acquisition of religious–dialogical competence, using the method of text analysis. In more exact terms, faced with the challenges that arise from a society burdened with misunderstanding, violence and hostility, often linked with a religious affiliation and worldviews, we ask ourselves the following question: to what extent is the contemporary education system in the Republic of Croatia, at the level of its curricula, open to the comprehensive development of students, especially in terms of the development of the religious–dialogical dimension, necessary for living a good and beautiful life in the modern multicultural and multireligious world? The results reveal a different, mostly insufficient, openness of the curriculum to the religious dimension of intercultural education. That is one of the reasons why the education system does not seem to be open to the development of the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary for a harmonious and “beautiful” coexistence in modern society.

Perennialism Approach toward the Unity of Religions

The formation of a sound interreligious dialogue concept is essential if different religious believers are to coexist peacefully. Many well-known religious experts have been working very hard to establish a foundation for interreligious discussion. Some of them have made an effort to conceptualize the notions of religious unity, in which all the many religions in this multireligious world could find common ground. placed. Let's start by looking at how people now interact with religion. People who argue that all religions' teachings are relative reject the idea that every one of them conveys the absolute truth. This is one of several kinds of human attitudes toward religion. They can be categorized as "relativists." People who reject all other religions and only accept their own as absolute are in the second group. This concept might be referred to as "exclusivism." People who look for a means to accept all religions as true fall into the third type. "Universalism" is the concept in question. We now have a better understanding of how people respond to the diversity of religions in "a highly globalized world," but we must ask again: how did people learn to adopt these mindsets?

“The Spiritual Adventure of the Churches”

Abstract The article draws upon the author’s lived experience of working for the World Council of Churches for seven years as lead staff member in its interreligious office. She suggests that there were three different strands, all of which were important to keep in mind in order to enable the office to carry out its role successfully: seeking to resource and enable Christians to live and minister in our multireligious world; developing and sustaining long-term bilateral relationships with partners representing other faiths, and with organisations which are intentionally interreligious; working with partners of other faiths on matters of mutual concern, particularly related to issues of justice and peace. The article explores each of these strands, with examples offered of how each was practically exemplified in the interreligious office during the period when she held staff responsibility for its work.

Revitalizing Catholic Social Thought in a Multireligious World

Religion does influence personal choices and behavior, even today. In a multireligious society, religions and religious groups influence social life and public policy considerably. Hitherto, Catholic social teaching, thought, and practice were essentially, if not exclusively, based on the Christian vision of socioeconomic and political realities, without paying much attention to the existence and role of the world’s great religions and religious traditions in this endeavor. To revitalize Catholic social teaching in today’s world, the Church must enter into critical dialogue with non-Christian religions and harness their contribution to sociopolitical transformation. The teachings of Pope Francis, especially in recent social encyclicals, emphasize the importance of such conversations and identify possible paths to pursue.

IndunilJ.KodithuwakkuK. (ed.). Christian Witness in a Multi‐Religious World. Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2022. 432 pp.

The Ecumenical ReviewVolume 74, Issue 5 p. 846-848 Book Review J. Indunil , K. Kodithuwakku (ed.). Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World. Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2022. 432 pp. Christanto Sema Rappan Paledung, Corresponding Author Christanto Sema Rappan Paledung rappanpaledung@gmail.com Search for more papers by this author Christanto Sema Rappan Paledung, Corresponding Author Christanto Sema Rappan Paledung rappanpaledung@gmail.com Search for more papers by this author First published: 19 January 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/erev.12752Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume74, Issue5Special Issue: Healing Wounded Memories Through Interreligious Perspective and EngagementDecember 2022Pages 846-848 RelatedInformation

Spiritualität als Thema kirchlicher Psychiatrieseelsorge in Deutschland

Research and discussion on spirituality have increased in palliative care and in psychiatry and psychotherapy. At the same time, Christian pastoral care is changing in today’s multireligious world and must present its form and approach transparent and reasonable. The following text outlines a pastoral theological position in the context of spiritual care from a German ecclesiastical-pastoral perspective.

Christ’s Love as the New Face of Christian Apologetics in India

AbstractThe new face of Christian apologetics emphasizes advocating the gospel through a praxis‐oriented perspective of Christ’s love. The new face does not show superiority or advantages, but manifests the benefit of our faith in Christ’s love to the world. This article argues that reigniting Christ’s love in a self‐believing world not only exemplifies but also fulfils the purpose of faith in Christ. This is the greatest evidence of apologetics we can give to our friends of other faiths. Considering the multireligious world, which has turned into a global village, we must ask how Christ’s love can be advocated without hurting the sentiments of another religion. This question takes on greater importance in a multireligious context like India, where Christians are a minority. In such a setting, no matter how much we seek to remain exclusive, advocacy is tangible only through our manifestation of Christ’s love transcending ethnic, gender, religious, political, and economic barriers. The hallmark of our advocacy should be that our presence is a blessing in a multireligious context.

Awakening Christian Discipleship: Gleanings from an Experiment in Interreligious Education

Through autoethnographic research, this article argues that interreligious education is integral to Christian discipleship and that living in a multi-religious world demands more than knowledge of the religious other. To live fully into a Christian identity in a multi-religious world demands interreligious education.

An elephant in the room: university chaplains cultivating healthy religious diversity through respectful dialogue

ABSTRACT Finding Common Ground (FCG) is an inter-belief dialogue program hosted in the Multi Faith Facility of Swinburne University of Technology. FCG is a voluntary program that offers Swinburne students a safe space to discuss their religious faith, or alternative value base, and to learn from those of others. Two iterations of this program were evaluated in 2018. We argue that nurturing healthy religious expression and cultivating respect for diverse religious and other belief frameworks is essential in today’s multi-religious and pluralist world. Furthermore, we suggest that such exploration in the diverse (secular) university context is addressing something of ‘an elephant in the room’ in student life and learning in contemporary universities. We also recognise the reality of unhealthy expressions and fundamentalist assertions that fuel wider community aversion to a focus on overt religious conversations that tilt towards controversial debate and polarisation. This article principally analyses the experience of one student participant ‘Antoni’ to highlight significant themes reflected in the overall student responses: why FCG was a ‘safe place’ for dialogue, and how it cultivated empathy and humility, inter-faith community and pastoral support, healthy religious outlooks (rather than ‘spiritual bypass’) and personal formation.

Critical Race Theory Meets Internal Family Systems: Toward a Compassion Spirituality for a Multireligious and Multiracial World

Critical Race Theory Meets Internal Family Systems: Toward a Compassion Spirituality for a Multireligious and Multiracial World

Strengthening inter-cultural literacy and minority voices through narratives of healthy religious pluralism in higher education

ABSTRACT Religious faith and spiritual practices, although increasingly important to some students, are often avoided in the Western University classroom and student experience. There are some understandable and valid reasons for this. However, when two academics (Education/Social Work and Theology) were asked to evaluate a co-curricular, interreligious dialogue program in an Australian University, called Finding Common Ground (FCG), the data was so compelling that consideration for pedagogies in the university ‘classroom’ took on additional significance. More so in the contemporary context, where religious pluralism and respectful religious expression is to be encouraged, over and against polarisation, in today’s global and multi-religious world. This article reports on the evaluation of the FCG program’s social inclusion and inter-cultural literacy objectives. As a co-curricular program, FCG offers a safe space for students to discuss their religious faith, or alternative value base, and to learn from those of others. Research findings on two iterations of the program indicated that creating safe spaces, respectful dialogue and eliciting personal narratives supported the development of inter-cultural literacy in participants and encouraged participation of minority student voices. We examine this informal learning process, exploring possibilities that might affirm more inclusive practices in higher education and cross-culturally informed graduate outcomes.

Christian Witness in a Multi-religious World: Trajectories in the International Ecumenical Discussion

This article presents an overview of discussions on the ecumenical document ‘Christian witness in a multi-religious world’. Beginning in Germany, it highlights the attention the document received and tracks some of the arguments through the changing contexts of the last decade connected to the document’s invitation for a mission in respect of others. The challenge to implement the recommendations the document offers in a common endeavour to witness to Christ is then emphasized. The reception process for the document is described as an invitation to adopt and contextualize the principles and recommendations in one’s own practising of mission and evangelism instead of sending comments on the text for revision.

Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World: Brazil and its Pulsating Plurality

This article traces the efforts of the National Council of Churches in Brazil to endorse the document ‘Christian witness in a multi-religious world’ and to implement its recommendations in the practice of churches in Brazil. The reception of the document is placed into the historical development of the ecumenical movement in Brazil since an important conference in 1962 in Recife, Brazil, and the impact the Second Vatican Council had in the Latin American country. The focus is then on how the religious plurality in the country started to be perceived. Three examples follow showing how fundamentalist Christian groups oppose other religious expressions in the country and how the churches united in the council are challenged by the spirit of witnessing in respect to embrace pluralism.

Christian Witness in the Middle East

This contribution discusses the reception to and relevance of ‘Christian witness in a multi-religious world’ in the Middle East. After a brief survey of the reception and some comments on the Arabic translation of the document, it argues that the guidelines offered in ‘Christian witness’ are especially relevant with regard to intra-Christian proselytism, relief and development work, and religious freedom and conversion.

A Reconsideration of the Significance of the Death of Jesus Christ in the Context of Religious Plurality

This article explores the background of the document ‘Christian witness in a multi-religious world’ to ask how the significance of the death of Jesus Christ can be communicated in the context of religious plurality in India. Traditional approaches to the death of Christ are presented as well as dialogical approaches testing them against the recommendation of the document that Christian witness in a pluralistic world includes engaging in dialogue with people of different religions and cultures.

Christian witness in a multi-religious world

Christian witness in a multi-religious world

Religious education in state primary schools: the case of Catalonia (Spain)

In a pluricultural and multi-religious world, with high levels of social secularisation, the role of religious education in schools (especially in state-funded schools) has inundated political and academic debate throughout Europe, which is becoming increasingly more committed to integrating, non-confessional models. In this context, it is essential to analyse how religious education is managed in countries whose relationship between state and religion is still firmly rooted (as is the case of Spain), and what the action of schools and families is in contexts where confessional religion is maintained in schools. Based on a quantitative study of 380 representatives of primary school management teams, it is seen that one in four schools does not teach any type of religion, either due to a lack of demand from families or because the school chooses not to do so. In addition, the study shows the practical limitations of the confessional model to provide a response to the religious and secular diversity of our time, as the implementation of minority confessions is very scant while there is a primacy of the catholic confession in the religion subject.

The Interfaith Movement in a Liminal Age: The Institutionalization of a Movement

This essay confronts current questions within the interfaith movement: What is it? Does it have a clear purpose? What is its role within our current liminal culture? How do we articulate the answers to these questions in order to gain a place in the academy, establish an interfaith atmosphere in the classroom, and gain funds to achieve its mission? The questions, in turn, are answered by providing descriptions of the diverse ways “interfaith” is used in public discourse in an age of continual uncertainty and fracturing. These descriptions are then placed within the practical multireligious world of teaching, fundraising, and professionalization of an academic discipline.

La enseñanza de las religiones en la escuela en España: avatares del modelo de aula segregada

The Spanish educational model, which has teded historically to be singular with regard to religion, was redefined under the Constitution of 1978, incorporating values of pluralism, even in the realm of religion. The study of religions in the school is of outstanding educational interest in our globalized and multi-religious world. But in the Spanish case the development of Religious Education has been a controversial, provocative process marked by problems with the design and implementation of the subject, one key isuue being its development within a framework of segregated education. The contexts of the implementation of religious education (both in its confessional and non-confessional ways) in Spain are tackled in this article. The proposal that reflected religious diversity in a pedagogically correct mode, in non-segregated classrooms and from an integrative and non-confessional perspective, took form in the subject named «History and Culture of the Religions», which was taught between 2007 and 2014 in Spanish Schools.