Search Results (133)

This paper argues that English translations of the Qur’ān play a pivotal role in shaping interfaith dialogue, either fostering mutual understanding or reinforcing religious division, depending on the translator’s ideological stance. While interreligious relations have historically been marred by conflict, the 1893 Parliament of the World’s Religions marked a turning point toward more inclusive and dialogical engagement. In this context, translating the Qur’ān emerged as a crucial medium through which Islamic teachings could be made accessible to non-Muslim audiences. Several scholars, including Kidwai and Elmarsafy, have explored the Orientalist framing of Qur’ān translation; however, few researchers have examined how modern renderings consciously reposition the text as a site of interfaith ethics. This study critically examines whether George Sale’s influential translation of the Qur’ān—reprinted nearly 200 times—contributes to or hinders interfaith dialogue between Muslims and Christians. It compares Sale’s Qur’ān rendition into English with five contemporary translations. The paper analyzes the translations of five Qur’ānic verses promoting coexistence, with particular attention to key terms such as إِكْرَاهَ ikrah (compulsion), الدِّينِ ad-dīn (religion), تَّقْوَىٰ taqwā (piety), and مُسْلِمُونَ muslimūn (submitters). Guided by Munday’s theory of ideology in translation, the analysis demonstrates that Sale’s rendering adopts a distinctly polemical tone intended to assert Christian superiority. The findings indicate a clear shift from polemical to dialogical translation strategies. Sale’s Orientalist approach—evident in his footnote on Q.4:157, where he characterizes Muslim exegesis as intellectually deficient—ultimately constrains meaningful interfaith engagement. In contrast, Khattab employs an inclusive and ethically grounded approach that actively fosters interreligious dialogue. By positioning Qur’ān translation at the intersection of theology, linguistics, and interfaith relations, this paper demonstrates that translation choices hold significant power: they can either bridge divides or exacerbate tensions between religious communities. Full article

Today’s world is a pluralistic society. This is evident in the multiplicity of cultures and religions, which should ordinarily have practiced mutual respect through interfaith and ecumenical dialogues, compromises, communal and peaceful transformation, with recognition of basic rights of all communities. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, particularly in Nigeria, dominated by three major religions: African Traditional Religions (ATR), Christianity, and Islam. These three, we must acknowledge, sometimes not only misunderstood other faiths, but scandalously eyed them with hostile suspicions and tragic distinction that we are the children of light and everyone else the child of darkness, breeding conflicts and violence. This article, using literary and theological analysis, addresses those issues that promote interreligious and ecumenical dialogue as recipes for overcoming conflicts and reinforcing positive and integral human transformation and development in communities. Full article

The ability of religion to both unite and divide us is a central research topic across academic disciplines. There is important research on the conditions of religious pluralism and tolerance, violence and discrimination, yet disciplinary silos and disconnects between the academy and the public remain barriers to progress. To investigate these problems, we convened 56 scholars of religious pluralism and conflict from different national contexts over a two- year period and conducted focus groups around three broad questions: What are the key issues in defining religious pluralism and religious conflict? What are the most salient contexts in which to study religious pluralism and conflict, both geographically and institutionally? What tensions and opportunities are most important for advancing public scholarship on religious pluralism and conflict? We find that (1) religious pluralism is best conceptualized as an active interreligious engagement that honors differences, (2) achieving research clarity and focus requires specific interdisciplinary dialogue and tools, (3) identifying the conditions under which pluralism and conflict thrive demands diverse methods across sub-national, national, and global contexts, and (4) scholars must engage policymakers, religious leaders, and religious communities to advance religious pluralism. This study provides critical parameters for a future public facing research agenda. Full article

This article explores how interfaith dialogue, especially involving non-Christian views and interpretations of Jesus, has transformed contemporary understandings of Christology. It also contends how and why such challenges and developments can further reform and expand what is meant by the Church and salvation (ecclesiology and soteriology). To do so, it first highlights three perspectives towards the other that seem most promising for any robust interfaith Christology and why turning to non-Christians for views of Christ can be spiritually and theologically helpful, if not cathartic. To highlight this idea, it then examines some representative Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist interpretations or critiques of Christology. In doing so, the article ambitiously contends that one main aim of transforming Christology is to transform the Church. Thus, the transformation of Christology through interfaith dialogue will also transform the Church because it will transform how Christians perceive and respond to what is salvific in other faiths and revelations. Advocating for a more expansive Christology, therefore, coincides with developing a more expansive ecclesiology and soteriology. Full article

This article advances a constructive theological account of Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HCAI) for Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) engaged in interreligious dialogue (IRD). Drawing on a practical–theological methodology, the study follows four interrelated steps—descriptive–empirical, interpretive, normative, and pragmatic—to examine how AI-enabled practices such as translation, textual analysis, and cross-scriptural synthesis are reshaping contemporary forms of dialogue among religious and non-religious communities. Through the empirical mapping of current AI applications, interdisciplinary interpretation informed by social and ethical analysis, and normative theological evaluation, the study identifies both the opportunities and risks of AI-mediated IRD. On this basis, it synthesizes three interdependent dimensions that structure the proposed framework: (1) Ethics, which clarifies the moral purpose and values guiding AI use; (2) Technology, which addresses mediation, governance, and power in AI systems; and (3) Humans, which centers institutional responsibility, agency, and sustainability within FBOs. From this synthesis, the article introduces an AI–IRD Integration Framework that translates theological and ethical reflection into practical guidance for responsible AI adoption. The study contributes an original interdisciplinary perspective that equips religious leaders, theologians, policymakers, and faith communities to engage AI not merely as a tool, but as a human-centered partner in fostering inclusive, sustainable, and ethically grounded dialogue in an era of AI–human coexistence. Full article

The Hamas attack of 7 October 2023 and the ensuing war profoundly destabilized Jewish–Arab relations within Israel, intensifying fear, mistrust, and intercommunal tensions. Focusing on the mixed city of Haifa, this article examines the potential and limitations of interreligious dialogue under conditions of acute conflict. It analyzes the Haifa Multi-Religious Initiative, convened by the University of Haifa shortly after the outbreak of war, which brought together Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Druze religious leaders in a series of facilitated encounters. Drawing on participant observation and qualitative analysis, the study proposes a three-dimensional model of dialogue—structural, relational, and transformative—to assess how religious leadership operates within institutional constraints, power asymmetries, and identity negotiations. The findings highlight both the capacity of religious leaders to foster trust and civic solidarity at the local level and the significant limits imposed by political pressures and communal accountability. The article argues that interreligious dialogue can contribute to urban peacebuilding, not by resolving conflict, but by sustaining shared civic life amid protracted violence. Full article

In the first quarter of the 21st Century, Western Europe witnessed a proliferation of various types of interreligious initiatives. In the meantime, a new paradigm of local management of religious diversity has become increasingly popular in many parts of the continent. This new approach focuses on the involvement of religious actors in policy making, in a bottom-up “governance” perspective, rather than on old-style directive and top-down “government”. As a consequence, interreligious bodies and initiatives have started playing not only a social but also a political role, in some cases even formally sanctioned at the institutional level. However, considering that most part of the existing literature on the local management of religious diversity adopts a sociology or religious studies perspective, a thorough assessment of the political meaning of this phenomenon is still lacking. The present article tries to contribute to fill this gap by assessing the main points of the existing literature, sketching a typology of interreligious initiatives and their political/institutional roles, and, finally, drafting a new research agenda in order to improve our comprehension of the role of interreligious bodies in local governance and how to enhance their democratic and participative nature. Full article

This study analyses the theological debates surrounding the Servant Songs in the Book of Isaiah, with particular attention to the fourth song, as interpreted in medieval Jewish literature. These passages, fundamental to both Jewish and Christian tradition, became a central focus of controversial dialogue in medieval Spain. Through a systematic analysis of Hebrew commentaries, the article examines key theological issues that emerge in these debates: the universal mission of Israel, the meaning of suffering, the concept of kenosis in Pauline theology, and the doctrine of original sin. Jewish exegetes such as Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Moses Ha-Kohen of Tordesillas, and Abravanel offered critical responses to Christian claims, often proposing alternative readings based on Hebrew philology and rational anthropology. The study highlights how these exchanges contributed to a deeper understanding of divine justice, human action, and incarnation, while emphasising the importance of precise theological language in interreligious dialogue. Some anthropological and metaphysical questions briefly addressed here point to new lines of research. Ultimately, the Servant Songs reveal themselves as a privileged space for theological reflection and manifest the enduring resonance of prophetic revelation. Full article

In today’s plural and global context, the Theology of Religions and Interreligious Dialogue play a decisive role in fostering mutual understanding and a genuine culture of encounter. This article examines the theological and spiritual foundations of this task through a re-reading of Paul Tillich and Jacques-Albert Cuttat. Starting from Tillich’s unfinished reflection on the significance of the history of religions, this study reconstructs his ontological and pneumatological framework, with particular attention to the notion of a mystical a priori as the structural condition of all religious experience. On this basis, it analyses Cuttat’s model of “assumptive convergence” between the two “religious hemispheres”—East and West—as an experiential and spiritual unfolding of Tillich’s intuition. This article argues that Cuttat’s proposal anticipates, in practical and mystical terms, the theology of religions outlined by Tillich, showing how Christian mystical experience can assume, discern, and transfigure other religious traditions without syncretism or relativism. In this perspective, mysticism emerges as a fundamental theological principle for articulating truth, plurality, and ethical responsibility in interreligious dialogue. Full article

In the face of advancing globalisation processes and intensified contacts between representatives of different cultures and religions, interreligious dialogue is becoming an important component of contemporary social coexistence. This article aims to establish a relationship between interpersonal skills, moral intelligence, and readiness to engage in interreligious dialogue among adult Poles. A total of 519 people aged 18 to 75 (M = 48.44; SD = 15.55) were surveyed. This study used the Readiness to Engage in Interreligious Dialogue Scale (TGDMVE), the Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire (ICQ-R) and the Moral Intelligence Quotient (MIQ). The results of the analyses indicated that, in terms of interpersonal competence, the strongest significant predictor of all five dimensions of readiness to engage in interreligious dialogue was active concern for others. In terms of moral intelligence, it was the ability to recognise spiritual needs. The results may have significant practical implications for the areas of intercultural education, the prevention of xenophobic attitudes, and the building of social capital based on dialogue, trust, and respect. Full article

This paper investigates the development of interreligious dialogue in Brescia, a prosperous Northern Italian city with approximately 200,000 inhabitants. Despite similarities to other cities in the region, Brescia exhibits an unusually vibrant “interreligious scene,” encompassing numerous initiatives, events, and platforms. We ask why this vitality has emerged and what consequences it has for local understandings of religious freedom. To address these questions, we combine two analytical frameworks. First, drawing on the concept of political opportunity structure, we examine Brescia’s genius loci—the specific institutional, cultural, and discursive conditions that fostered interreligious engagement. Brescia’s strong Catholic tradition and inclusive integration policies, together with a diverse migrant population, have created opportunities for religious communities—especially migrant groups—to participate and get recognized. Second, using Bourdieu’s concept of the field, we consider the power dynamics among actors involved in interreligious dialogue, highlighting how different agendas and positions shape interactions and outcomes. This analysis reveals the emergence of a relatively autonomous field of interreligious dialogue in which local stakes are being defined over what dialogue entails and how it should be practiced. By linking political opportunity structures with field theory, the paper shows how local contexts shape the conditions for religious freedom, while interreligious practices themselves, in turn, reshape the meaning and application of religious freedom. Full article

Current school safety frameworks in South Korea concentrate on physical and infrastructure-related risks (e.g., natural disasters, traffic accidents, and facility management), overlooking safety challenges that emerge from the gradual multicultural transition of Korean society. This work attempts to address this critical gap in school safety frameworks. To do so, we first examine how issues related to increasing religious diversity in South Korea create safety challenges. Through our examination of specific cases in university settings, we demonstrate not only that these issues manifest as sociocultural challenges extending beyond the physical risks that current frameworks prioritize, but also that higher education institutions lack adequate institutional responses. Based on this analysis, we develop a curriculum framework for teaching about world religions in general education as an institutional approach to these challenges. By engaging with the concept of religion alongside various religious traditions and discourses, this curriculum aims to develop students’ religious literacy—a competency for better understanding and navigating complex religious and cultural dynamics in daily life. With this curriculum, we suggest an effective way to enhance current school safety frameworks through religious education that is essential for addressing the challenges entwined deeply with the sociocultural transition in South Korea. In doing so, we also highlight that religion continues to maintain significant influence in contemporary Korean society, contrary to widespread assumptions that undermine its ongoing roles and impact. Full article

This article examines the paradigm shift in Christian mission from conversion-centered models toward dialogical and justice-oriented praxis. Taking the Steyler Missionaries as a case study, this approach engages post-Vatican II theology, postcolonial critique, and Comparative Theology to demonstrate how mission can embody epistemic humility, contextual sensitivity, and theological hospitality. Based on qualitative interviews and textual analysis, the study highlights how dialogical mission reshapes Christian identity through mutual transformation rather than doctrinal transmission. The findings indicate that Comparative Theology provides a significant methodological and theological resource for interreligious engagement, enabling missionaries to move beyond hegemonic proclamation toward relational and ethically grounded witness. By integrating theological reflection with empirical insight, the article demonstrates how dialogical mission contributes to a reconfiguration of Christian witness in pluralistic and postcolonial contexts and offers a constructive framework for the future of mission practice. Full article

(1) Background: From a post-secular perspective, the relationship between religions in the public sphere is conceived as an exchange in which religious beliefs, when formulated as rational arguments, contribute to building a shared public culture and foster a democratic transformation of interreligious relations. This article critiques this approach, highlighting its neglect of the lived experience of religion and, in particular, the situated and situational nature of processes of religious identity and religious difference formation. (2) Methods: Ethnographic observation of a performance held in a sacred art museum in Tuscany by immigrants from different religious backgrounds, four semi-structured interviews with performers, and one interview with the museum director were conducted. (3) Results: Personal and religious narratives, along with face-to-face interactions, generate dynamics of identification, differentiation, and situated identity redefinition. Interaction with the artwork, framed as a shared space, facilitates shifts in religious self and other positioning. It also reconfigures the boundaries between “us” and “them.” The artwork acts as a symbolic device that enables multiple interpretations and unexpected forms of recognition. (4) Conclusions: Relations of identification and distinction among religious identities are transformed not through abstract rational deliberation but through concrete, discursive, and performative practices. Full article

This article explores an interreligious educational initiative jointly developed by the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI) and the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), the “Sixteen Sheets on Judaism,” created to support Catholic religious education in Italian schools. Using a dialogical-hermeneutic methodology within a constructivist qualitative framework, the study applies Hermeneutic Content Analysis to thematically code and interpret the corpus. The analysis shows how the sheets seek to dismantle long-standing stereotypes and theological distortions about Judaism—often still present in educational settings—and to prevent forms of antisemitism by fostering accurate knowledge and mutual respect. Key themes include the Hebrew Scriptures, the Written and Oral Torah, and the Jewish identity of Jesus and Paul. The materials promote mutual recognition and religious literacy through dialogical engagement and the affirmation of Judaism as a living and autonomous tradition. By enabling Jewish self-representation and encouraging theological reciprocity, the sheets exemplify a model of transformative non-formal education. The article positions this case within broader debates on interreligious pedagogy and presents it as a valuable tool for inclusive curriculum design and intercultural citizenship. Full article