The Frailty of Religious Commitments and Its Impact on Interreligious Encounters, in Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses. Louvain Journal of Theology and Canon Law 86 (2010) 349-371. (original) (raw)
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Between Fragility and Openness: Cohabitation in the interreligious dialogue with Paul Ricoeur
The benefits and problems of religious plurality concerned Paul Ricoeur. Through reference to his thought, my essay seeks to give an ontological foundation to interreligious dialogue reflecting on its theoretical form. Following a Ricoeurian analysis of human ontological disproportion, its plural condition, and the «captive free will», I first attempt to show the constructive role that religion plays in human life. More precisely, I demonstrate the impact of anthropological structures on interreligious dialogue, focusing on the positive possibility of interfaith encounters. On the other hand, confronted with the fact that people to this day continue to kill “in the name of God”, I try to understand why religion’s susceptibility to violence exists and how we may try to eliminate it. Here I rely on Ricoeur’s hermeneutical anthropology of the suffering and capable self. Interreligious meeting entails a long effort with a limited range of possibilities that needs our constant work to save the essential value of cohabiting together. Keywords: interreligious dialogue; hermeneutics; anthropology; fallibility; alterity.
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Language and Intercultural Communication, 2012
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This book provides an introduction to the current state of the field for those new to interreligious dialogue and the theology of religions, as well as providing insights and new concepts that will be of interest to specialists. In particular, the current deadlock between pluralist and particularist approaches is re-imagined, and a strong argument for radical openness to the religious Other is advanced, based upon the resources of the Christian heritage. Also explored are many issues pertaining to debates in this area which are not always addressed, such as religious identity and definitions of religion. The book draws inspiration from many sources including intercultural theology, feminist theologies of religions, comparative theology, postcolonial identity theory, scholarly debates on the nature of religion, and biblical concepts of hospitality to outline its new approach. It concludes that we must seek mutual fulfilment with religious Others while maintaining Christian integrity. It also addresses the problems this involves when seeking ethical partnership across religious boundaries. No easy answers are given, however, a vision for radical openness based on Jesus’ example, the Christian heritage, and contemporary scholarship is endorsed.
Our age is characterised by a growing interest in religious plurality. Several reasons can account for this. There is the increasing knowledge of other religious traditions and particularly the vivid contact with people belonging to other religions and cultures 1 . The religious other is no longer an abstract figure, but shows himself in all his concreteness as a neighbour, a colleague, a friend, a partner, etc. The consequence is that "more and more Christians, along with peoples of other faiths and ideologies, are experiencing religious pluralism in a new way -that is they are feeling not only the reality of so many other religious paths, but also their vitality, their influence in our modern world, their depths, beauty and attractiveness" 2 .