Theology Of Religious Pluralism Research Articles

TOWARDS A CHRISTIAN APPROACH TO AFRICA TRADITIONAL RELIGION

Inter-Religious dialogue is a demand for the mission. Based on the theological investigation of scholars who explore and write on the subject, the article analyses the theological challenge of Inter-Religious dialogue especially in approaching African Traditional Religions. The discussion concerns the Christian theology of religious pluralism with the local religion in Africa looking at the theological progress, not just from the abstract world of books, but also, from connecting with the life of the people, appreciating and connecting points of convergences with the local culture and religions. Still, a long way to go on the reflection and there needs to open wider our vision concerning the action of the Spirit that has been always present in Africa.

Revisión crítica de neuroteología como metateología y megateología

El artículo pretende ser una revisión de los conceptos: metateología y megateología utilizados por el neurocientífico Andrew Newberg en su obra Principles of Neurotheology. Para esto, en primera instancia, se hace una revisión del término teología, desde su origen griego, y reflexionar sobre si es aplicable o no a las demás religiones. En segundo lugar, se evalúa el concepto de neuroteología como una metateología o teología universal para todas las religiones. Y por último, se analiza el término de megateología, como una neuroteología que pueda ser utilizada conceptual y terapéuticamente por todas las religiones en cuanto que engloba elementos comunes de estas. En este análisis se trata de resaltar los peligros en que puede caer esta propuesta como son el sincretismo religioso y una comprensión errónea de lo que es y persigue la teología del pluralismo religioso.

O pluralismo religioso em Jacques Dupuis: uma perspectiva teológica para o diálogo inter-religioso

O pluralismo religioso de Jacques Dupuis se fundamenta no método indutivo, isto é, da experiência do encontro com a outra religião encontrar o caminho de síntese daquilo que é positivo e dar plausibilidade teológica ao diálogo inter-religioso. O autor fundamenta o paradigma do pluralismo inclusivista como aquele que mais se adéqua as exigências do diálogo, o qual é outra condição para um encontro entre as fés, sem desmerecer uma ou legitimar a outra. Todavia, Dupuis e a teologia do pluralismo religioso foram questionadas pela Santa Sé com dois escritos oficiais que são a Dominus Iesus e a Notificação a Jacques Dupuis. No encontro entre o pluralismo religioso e as críticas ao teólogo em questão surgem desafios fundamentais para a teologia, como sustentar um método teológico que permita o diálogo inter-religioso, um paradigma que evidencie o acolhimento ao diferente e uma insistência no diálogo como caminho para a paz e da tolerância.

Uma peregrinação advaita ao encontro do outro: o diálogo inter-religioso na obra de Raimon Panikkar

Raimon Panikkar (1918-2010), teólogo e filósofo, nascido em Barcelona, de família cristã-hindu, foi um dos principais expoentes do diálogo inter-religioso. Destaca-se, neste contexto, sua expressão que se tornou célebre: parti cristão, me descobri hindu e retornei budista, sem jamais ter deixado de ser cristão. Em meu retorno, me descobri um melhor cristão. Para entendê-la, compreendemos ser fundamental adentrar o sentido de advaita (adualidade). A forma como a perspectiva védica do advaita está inserida em sua obra e constitui em recurso para a sua concepção do diálogo inter-religioso é o tema principal desta pesquisa. O autor desenvolveu importantes conceitos ao longo de sua obra e podemos identificar não só uma influência, mas uma referência clara à tradição hindu e, mais propriamente, à perspectiva advaita, tantas vezes mencionada por ele e que identificamos como uma espécie de fio condutor ou de fator explicativo para muitas de suas teorias. Esta pesquisa procura investigar de que forma o advaita se constitui em caminho de construção do diálogo inter-religioso nas obras de Panikkar. Para tal, contextualizamos a perspectiva advaita nas origens do Hinduísmo e a sua utilização por parte do autor, a partir de uma análise crítica do pensamento filosófico ocidental, em sua experiência mística, também definida por ele como experiência da Vida. Analisamos suas teorias da visão trinitária e cosmoteândrica, baseadas na Trindade cristã, o seu conceito de cristologia nomeado de cristofania e o desenvolvimento de uma atitude pluralista, que servirá como base para o diálogo inter-religioso em sua obra, a partir do paradigma pluralista da Teologia do Pluralismo Religioso. E identificamos o advaita na construção do que ele entende por diálogo intra-religioso, o encontro do outro em si mesmo, através do que denomina amor advaita. Uma peregrinação que acontece na interioridade do ser humano, paralelamente ao diálogo inter-religioso. Trata-se de uma pesquisa teórica, através de uma perspectiva metodológica crítico-analítica, tendo em vista a sua aplicação no diálogo inter-religioso, embasadas na bibliografia de Panikkar, mas também na de alguns autores que dialogam, criticam e/ou servem como referência para ele.

Theology Facing Religious Diversity: The Perspective of Latin American Pluralist Theology

Life is plural and diverse, biodiverse. This reality has always provoked philosophy, the sciences, and also theology. But how does theological thinking reflect on this eco-human diversity? What about religious diversity? Are diversity and pluralism the same phenomenon? These questions express the aim of this article: to reflect on theology in the face of diversity and pluralism. With the methodology of bibliographic analysis, the article begins by discussing the challenges of this reality. Then it deals with how theology confronts diversity and pluralism. In the end, it reflects on the possibility of Latin American Liberation Theology being conceived as pluralist, articulating itself with the Theology of Religious Pluralism—especially from the 1990s. One of the exponents of the Latin American Liberation Theology that justifies such a paradigm shift is the theologian Leonardo Boff. With his outputs, Latin American theology starts to realize, from the ecological paradigm, the articulation between liberation and dialogue, then being called pluralistic liberation theology. The conclusions of the article point out that cultural change, the ecological paradigm and, recently, the questions of decolonial theology, have led theological thinking to transform more, facing the socio-environmental challenges of diversity, conflicts, and interreligious dialogue, accepting even more the awareness of pluralism.

My Name is Great Among the Nations: A DDVar Torah on Parshat Toldot

This talk takes as its main text one of the most remarkable passages in the Hebrew Bible, at Malachi 1:11: “For, from where the sun rises to where it sets, My name is honored among the nations, and everywhere incense and pure oblation are offered to My name; for My name is honored among the nations – said Adonai Tzevaot.” The apparently universalistic message inscribed in these words provokes a host of questions in the theology of religious pluralism. The most obvious is whether nations and religious traditions “from where the sun rises to where it sets” are actually worshipping the “same God.” This talk argues, however, that the question of whether different faiths worship the “same God” is, at the end of the day, not particularly useful or interesting. More vital is whether we can see the God to whom we pray in the worship of others. Or, more to the point, whether we can learn about God from the differences we see in the worship of others. Appreciating other religions is not only important for the sake of mutual respect, though that is vital as well, but also and most deeply for the sake of our understanding of God – the God who yearns for relationship and is infinitely and mysteriously capable of finding it.

Book Review: Postcolonial Theology of Religions: Particularity and Pluralism in World Christianity

Postcolonial Theology of Religions: Particularity and Pluralism in World Christianity. By Jenny Daggers. New York: Routledge, 2013.,x + 236 pp. $44.95 (paper).Postcolonial critique has been constructively applied to an increasing number of theological areas in the past few decades, with great success. This volume by Jenny Daggers is a timely contribution, as her book is one of the first to critique and offer a reconstruction of Christian theologies of religion from a postcolonial framework. Whether one immersed in the Eurocentric theological tradition can be successful in constructing such a work remains to be seen.Daggers seeks to develop a particularist Christian theology of religions founded on feminist and Asian Christian interpretations of postcolonial theology that remains within the orthodox realm as defined by its adherence to trinitarianism. This is no simple goal. Her book arises from a desire to resist the Eurocentric roots of theologies of religious pluralism, which guides her summary and critique of the last six hundred years of Christian engagement with other religions. To construct a new approach that acknowledges the particularity and equality of every religion while still remaining firmly grounded within mainstream theology, she appeals to Asian liberation theologians. These theologians, both male and female, serve to prove that EuroAmerican Christians may borrow understandings of religious co-existence from non-Christians without either succumbing to colonialism or abandoning orthodox Christian theology.The contributions of this book rest in Daggers's introductory critical survey of modern attempts at theologies of religious pluralism and in her argument that a comparative religion methodology is most productive for avoiding colonialism and for valuing the particularity of each religion. She also offers a survey of male and female Asian and Asian-American perspectives on Christianity's co-existence with other religions that is missing from contemporary Euro-American theological endeavors.Unfortunately, Daggers s work falls short of its postcolonial goal on several fronts. First, she does not engage the deeper problems of interreligious dialogue or theologies of religious pluralism: namely, the barrier that soteriology erects when differences are finally recognized. The Christian soteriological claim that Christ saves the world, or even that the realm of God is globally healing and restorative, must be evaluated as a colonial claim on theologies of religious pluralism. Daggers's failure to address soteriology, assuming it rather under the umbrella of trinitarian theology, means that her proposal contains remnants of unrecognized colonial overtones, as when she uncritically adopts Mark S. Heim's proposal that all religions ultimately find their commonality in a single divine ultimate reality that is implicitly, if not explicitly, triune (p. …

Book Review: Never Wholly Other: A Muslima Theology of Religious Pluralism. By Jerusha Tanner Lamptey

Book Review: Never Wholly Other: A Muslima Theology of Religious Pluralism. By Jerusha Tanner Lamptey

Evolutions of the Mystical Conception of Religion in the Russian Academic Theology of the Nineteenth Century and Today's Challenges

The Russian academic theological tradition, scarcely known to the West, was the only milieu wherein the development of philosophy of religion in the pre-revolutionary Russia was under way. Philosophical investigation of the phenomenon of religion was being elaborated in the apologetic context, i.e. in critical analysis of non-theistic conceptions of the origin and essence of religion, and the figure of Friedrich Schleiermacher, with his reduction of religion firstly to cosmic feelings and later to the feeling of the ontological dependence, occupied an invariable place in this analysis. The paper deals with critical comments on Schleiermacher’s Speeches on Religion and Christian Faith made by Victor Kudryavtsev-Platonov and his followers, which are being parsed in turn, as well as with historical links of the later Schleiermacher with phenomenology of religion and typological affinities of the earlier Schleiermacher with the theology of religious pluralism.

Nurcholish Madjid’s Idea of Inclusive Theology in Islam

Nurcholish Madjid was one of Indonesian Muslim intellectuals who had shaped specific school of Islamic thought known as neo-modernism. One of contemporary issues that he was concerned with was the problem of religious plurality, which was a fact in Indonesian religious life and had been debated among Indonesian Muslim scholars before him. However, at his era, the discussion of such an issue became more controversial and attracted wider debate. This is because he interpreted “Islam,” which is commonly understood as religion of the followers of Prophet Muhammad, to mean “surrender” to God’s will which is at the heart of all prophetic religions before him. In addition, he extended the concept of people of the book (ahl al-kitab), which includes exclusively the adherents of Judaism and Christianity as traditionalists understand, to cover other religious traditions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and so on. Drawing greatly on Nurcholish’s works, this article argues that his theology of religious pluralism can be categorized as inclusive, which is different from exclusivism.

Being Shaped by the Ritual Practices of Others: a Classroom Reflection

AbstractThis reflection offers a glimpse into a Masters' level practical theology course in “wisdom formation” for its potential implications and contributions in multifaith education. Instigated by an unexpected companionship between the two instructors – an eighth‐generation rabbi, leader of CLAL (the Center for Learning and Leadership) and a Presbyterian practical theologian in a free‐standing United Methodist seminary – this elective course was developed for Christian and Jewish ministry students, though it eventually evolved into a required Masters of Divinity course in theologies of religious pluralism and interreligious/intercultural encounter. The course's structure and implementation are described, followed by difficulties faced and potential implications for multifaith education, specifically those in disciplinary formation, institutional stewardship, and the diverse contexts and questions for teaching and learning.

Religious Pluralism and the Coincidence of Opposites

The author discusses a theology of religious pluralism in light of the Trinity-Christ relationship. As the Trinity is the paradigm for interpreting religious diversity from a Christian perspective, so the significance of Christ as mediating center of a relational God is explored. Bonaventure's coincidence of opposites helps break open the Christ mystery as one that engages plurality and difference. Based on this paradigm Christian life is to be lived as a center of unity and from a new depth of love.

Pope Benedict XVI Confronts Religious Relativism

Pope Benedict XVI’s inflammatory speech at Regensburg highlights a subtle difference between Benedict and John Paul II. John Paul called Muslims and Jews “sons of Abraham,” and he organized high-profile interfaith events. Benedict is more skeptical of interreligious dialog and more confrontational toward Islam than was his predecessor. This shift in tone toward Islam stems from changed historical circumstances. Islam has replaced communism as Europe’s biggest ideological challenge. But, there are also subtle theological differences between the two Popes. John Paul was trained by Dominicans, and throughout his papacy, he was a champion of St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Augustine, with his bleaker view of non-Christian cultures, is the dominant influence on Benedict. Benedict believes that theologies of religious pluralism, which lead to metaphysical and religious relativism, have replaced liberation theologies as the most serious threats to Catholic orthodoxy.

Jacques Dupuis and a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism

Jacques Dupuis and a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism

Back to a Way Forward: Jacques Dupuis' Trinitarian Christology and the Invisible Missions of the Word and Spirit

Jacques Dupuis' book, Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism, drew an enormous response from theologians, some of them very concerned by Dupuis' argument in terms of the universal presence and action of the Word and Spirit as “extending beyond” that of the risen incarnate Word, and his insistence that “a divine action of the Word as such remains, which extends beyond the human action of the risen Christ”. The aim of this essay is to examine the distinctly trinitarian elements of Dupuis' argument, in the light of the classical teachings regarding Trinity and Christology, for it is on the basis of his “trinitarian christology” that Dupuis grounds his theology of religious pluralism. The author argues that, while Dupuis' “trinitarian christology” points the way to a more positive appreciation of the salvific efficacy of non-Christian religions, he has confused rather than advanced an understanding of the operation of Word and Spirit in regard to non-Christian religions. The author argues that the classical notion of the divine missions, visible and invisible, a strange omission from Dupuis' argument, would facilitate the case he seeks to make, avoid some of the ambiguities that dog his case, and mute the key concerns which have been raised by reviewers.

The Holy Spirit and the World Religions: On the Christian Discernment of Spirit(s) "after" Buddhism

emerging conversation is itself an outgrowth of focused attention on both pneumatology and trinitarian theology during the last generation. Applied to the world of the religions, the turn to pneumatology has furthered discussion on theology of religious pluralism by introducing new categories and shifting directions of inquiry. So whereas previous thinking about the religions focused on whether or not they were or are salvific, a pneumatological theology of religions asks whether or not and how, if so, the religions are divinely providential instruments designed for various purposes. Further, while earlier debates focused on whether or not the religions were or are the results of common grace or natural revelation, a pneumatological theologia religionum asks other kinds of questions, such as, what is the relationship of religion and culture, or of religion and language? How does religion function to sustain life and community? What role does religion play via-a-vis the other dimensions and domains of life, whether it be the arts, politics, economics, etc.? Finally, previous theologies of religion bogged down on abstract intra-Christian issues as evident in the dominant categories of exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism; a pneumatological theology of religions, on the other hand, attempts to push beyond these in-house categories by engaging religious others on their own terms. In explorations of a pneumatological theology of religions, however, one set of problematic questions repeatedly arises. Simply put, it has to do with how Christians can discern the Holy Spirit in the world of the religions and do so nonimperialistically in our postcolonial world. The Christian assumption is that besides the Holy Spirit of God, there are other spirits, perhaps unholy ones—human, institutional, even demonic—that are operative in the world in general and in the religions particularly. The biblical injunction to “test the spirits to see whether they are from

Two Recent Christian Theologies of Religious Pluralism

Two Recent Christian Theologies of Religious Pluralism

Jacques Dupuis' Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism

Given the politics and publicity surrounding Jacques Dupuis' Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism, his contribution to the developing theology of religious pluralism deserves closer scrutiny. The general question guiding this discussion is the following: does Jacques Dupuis provide adequate resources for claiming both the authenticity of Christian revelation and a genuinely positive acceptance of religious pluralism? This article outlines Dupuis' interreligious hermeneutical methodology, enquires into his understanding of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, and examines the implications of his Trinitarian Christology for a theology of religious pluralism. Dupuis' contribution is then assessed from the dual perspectives of Christian theology and theological rhetoric. Finally, the issue of Christian universalism is brought to hermeneutical attention.

Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism (review)

Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism (review)

Book Review: Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism

Book Review: Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism