Trends and Conferences in the Field of Interreligious Dialogue

The essays in this dossier are the result of the course “Interreligious and intercultural dialogue from a decolonial perspective”, which took place between May and June 2017 at the CEIICH in the UNAM. In this course, I proposed to link a decolonial theoretical perspective to the topic of “intercultural dialogue” and, beyond, to “interreligious dialogue”; anyhow, this last topic turned out to be the point of departure to explore more profound dialogues, linked no only to religious phenomena but to sacred traditions and spiritualities. During the course, emphasis was put on this last aspect due to the fact that the topic of “the Divine” (in its different expressions), although central to decoloniality, has been poorly studied. Moreover, it has been marginalized within secularized social sciences —and this not just in Mexico, but in most occidentalized universities throughout the globe. This vacuum towards the study of “the Divine” —and, beyond, its limitation through a concept of culture (which is, at the same time, associated to the colonized and to the “other” of modernity)— led the participants of this volume to research deeper that which philosopher Enrique Dussel has described as the “spaces denied and oppressed by modernity”.

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Gods, Heroes, and Ancestors

10.1093/oso/9780190677602.001.0001 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Anh Q. Tran

Keyword(s):

Sixteenth Century ◽

Religious Pluralism ◽

Analytical Study ◽

Interreligious Dialogue ◽

Christian Missions ◽

Traditional Beliefs ◽

Language And Culture ◽

Rich Picture ◽

Minority Religion ◽

Confucian Scholar

Though a minority religion in Vietnam, Christianity has constituted a significant presence in the country since its arrival in the sixteenth century. This translation and analytical study of a 1752 document entitled Tam Giáo Chư Vọng [Errors of the Three Religions] adds to the knowledge of its early history within its cultural and religious contexts. This anonymous manuscript paints a rich picture of the three traditional Vietnamese religions (Tam Giáo), i.e., Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. Aiming at the new converts, the writer describes the “errors” (Chư Vọng) of these traditional beliefs and religious practices and provides an apologetics for the Christian doctrines. Structured as a dialogue between a Christian priest and a Confucian scholar, the work explains and evaluates many religious customs and rituals of eighteenth-century Vietnam—many of which are still in practice today. In addition, it contains a trove of information on the challenges and struggles that Vietnamese Christian converts had to face in following the new faith. Beside its enormous historical value for studies on Vietnamese religions, language, and culture, this manuscript raises contemporary and highly complex issues concerning the encounter between Christianity and other religions, Christian missions, religious pluralism, interreligious dialogue, and the dialogue between Christianity and cultures.

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Interreligious Dialogue Groups Enabling Human Agency

Religions ◽

10.3390/rel12030189 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 189

Author(s):

Roger Campdepadrós-Cullell ◽

Miguel Ángel Pulido-Rodríguez ◽

Jesús Marauri ◽

Sandra Racionero-Plaza

Keyword(s):

Human Agency ◽

Interreligious Dialogue ◽

Discussion Groups ◽

Religious Communities ◽

Dialogic Learning ◽

United Nations Educational ◽

Local Actors ◽

Diversity Issues ◽

Dialogue Groups ◽

Depth Interviews

Evidence has shown that interreligious dialogue is one of the paths to build bridges among diverse cultural and religious communities that otherwise would be in conflict. Some literature reflects, from a normative standpoint, on how interreligious dialogue should be authentic and meaningful. However, there is scarce literature on what conditions contribute to this dialogue achieving its desirable goals. Thus, our aim was to examine such conditions and provide evidence of how interreligious dialogue enables human agency. By analyzing the activity of interreligious dialogue groups, we document the human agency they generate, and we gather evidence about the features of the conditions. For this purpose, we studied four interreligious dialogue groups, all affiliated with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Association for Interreligious Dialogue (AUDIR), employing in-depth interviews and discussion groups. In these groups, which operate in diverse and multicultural neighborhoods, local actors and neighbors hold dialogues about diversity issues. In so doing, social coexistence, friendship ties, and advocacy initiatives arise. After analyzing the collected data, we conclude that for interreligious dialogue to result in positive and promising outputs, it must meet some principles of dialogic learning, namely equality of differences, egalitarian dialogue, cultural intelligence, solidarity, and transformation.

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Zero Tolerance of Children’s Sexual Abuse from Interreligious Dialogue

Religions ◽

10.3390/rel12070549 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. 549

Author(s):

Cristina M. Pulido ◽

Ana Vidu ◽

Roseli Rodrigues de Mello ◽

Esther Oliver

Keyword(s):

Sexual Abuse ◽

Child Sexual Abuse ◽

Sustainable Development Goals ◽

Scientific Evidence ◽

Prevention Programs ◽

Interreligious Dialogue ◽

Religious Communities ◽

Sexual Abuse Prevention ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Development Goals

Child sexual abuse is a social problem that concerns our societies. The sustainable development goals have highlighted the eradication of child sexual abuse as one of the highest-priority goals of this century. Breaking the silence within religious communities is an essential step going forward. Therefore, establishing a dialogue between people of different religions is crucial to achieving this goal. The purpose of this article is to explore whether there are current interreligious dialogue initiatives based on scientific recommendations to prevent child sexual abuse. The method used herein is a qualitative document analysis of the selected initiatives. The results indicate that interreligious dialogue initiatives include scientific recommendations in their prevention programs. Furthermore, these successful initiatives connect religious values and the need to support victims and to break their silence. Based on these results, it can be concluded that interreligious initiatives for child sexual abuse prevention programs based on scientific evidence are crucial in order to eradicate child sexual abuse.

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