Dialogues and Conflicts among Religious People: Addressing the Relevance of Interreligious Dialogue to the Common Public (African Theological Studies / Etudes Théologiques Africaines)

Description

Dialogues and conflicts have become related topics. With all the resources, academic, financial and religious, interreligious dialogue is yet to achieve the expectations of peace among religious people. Searching through the works of many thinkers, from Plato, Rousseau, Buber and Bohm through de Chardin, von Balthasar, Rahner and Daniélou to Tracy, Jeanrond and Moyaert, this study discovers the missing link between interreligious dialogues and its practicability in the public, and proffers solutions. Cover Acknowledgments Table of Contents List of Abbreviations General Introduction Methodology Limitations Structural Resumé Chapter One. Dialogue: A General Overview 1.1 The Concept of Dialogue 1.1.1 Problem-Formulation and Solving-Dimension 1.1.2 Interactive-Dimension 1.1.3 Synthesis-Dimension 1.2 Nature and Metamorphosis of Dialogue 1.2.1 Relational-communicative Phase 1.2.2 Philosophical Phase 1.2.3 Public relational Phase 1.2.4 One-way conversationalist Phase 1.3 Selected historical References to Dialogue 1.3.1 Plato’s distinctive Relevance to Dialogues 1.3.2 Rousseau’s distinctive Relevance to Dialogue 1.3.3 Buber’s distinctive Relevance to Dialogue 1.3.4 Bohm’s distinctive Relevance to Dialogue 1.4 Purposes of Dialogue 1.4.1 Dialogue as a Goal in itself 1.4.2 Dialogue for Unity 1.4.3 Dialogue for Communication 1.4.4 Dialogue for Globalisation Chapter Two. On Interreligious Dialogue 2.1 The Question of interreligious Dialogue 2.1.1 What is Religion 2.1.2 Different Concepts of Religion 2.1.2.1 Judaism 2.1.2.2 Islam 2.1.2.3 Buddhism 2.1.3 Dialogue among Religions 2.1.3.1 Ontological Category 2.1.3.2 Structural Category 2.1.3.3 Exterior Category 2.2 Addressing Interreligious Dialogue from a Christian (Catholic) Perspective 2.2.1 Clarification of Terminologies 2.2.2 Meaning of interreligious Dialogue from a Christian Perspective 2.2.2.1 Interreligious Dialogue as Enhancement of human and religious Integrity 2.2.2.2 Interreligious Dialogue as Incorporation of Multi-Religions 2.2.2.3 Interreligious Dialogues as Hermeneutics of Religions 2.2.2.4 Interreligious Dialogue as a Forum of Evangelisation and/or Conversion 2.2.2.5 Synthesising the Meanings of Interreligious Dialogue 2.2.2.5.1 Religious Difference 2.2.2.5.2 Non-Religious Difference 2.2.2.5.3 Interreligious Dialogue and the Academia 2.2.2.6 The ultimate Aim of interreligious Dialogue 2.3 Developments of interreligious Dialogue in Christianity 2.3.1 The Crusade Saga 2.3.2 The Revolutions of the Reformation 2.3.3 The Effects of Colonisation 2.3.4 The 11th-September-2001 World Trade Centre Attack 2.4 The Challenges of interreligious Dialogue in Christianity 2.4.1 The inner Crisis of Christianity: Teilhard de Chardin, Hans Ur von Balthasar, Karl Rahner and Jean Cardinal Danielou 2.4.2 Popes on interreligious Dialogue: John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis 2.4.3 Tolerance of Paradox 2.4.4 Imbalance of the dialogic Power 2.5 Different Perspectives of interreligious Dialogue 2.5.1 Exculsivism 2.5.2 Inclusivism 2.5.3 Pluralism 2.5.4 Transformationalism 2.6 Interreligious Dialogue Clarified 2.6.1 Interreligious Dialogue for Christians 2.6.1.1 Distinctiveness of Christianity 2.6.2 Inadequacy of interreligious Dialogue Chapter Three. The Common Public: Religious and Non-Religious 3.1 Understanding the Public 3.1.1 Who and where is the Public 3.1.2 Kinds of Public 3.1.2.1 Homogenous Public 3.1.2.2 Heterogeneous Public 3.1.3 Reciprocity of the Public 3.2 "Status quo" of interreligious Dialogue in the Public 3.2.1 The State of interreligious Dialogue Today 3.2.1.1 The proliferated Developments in structured interreligious Dialogues 3.2.1.2 Urgency of Peace 3.2.1.3 The Esteem of interreligious Dialogue as a Discipline 3.2.1.4 The academic Benefits 3.2.2 The practical Incongruities and Tendencies of Intolerance 3.2.2.1 Bosnia-Herzegovina 3.2.2.2 Nigeria 3.3 Differences in cultural Backgrounds towards interreligious Relationship 3.3.1 The Western World and ‘Irreligiosity’: Germany as a Case Point 3.3.1.1 New-age Spiritualities/ Esoteric Spirituality 3.3.1.2 Effects of the Western Public to interreligious Dialogue 3.3.2 African Religious World: Igbo Culture as a Case Point 3.3.2.1 Religious Syncretism 3.3.2.2 Effects of African Public to Interreligious Dialogue 3.4 The public and interreligious Dialogue 3.4.1 Relevance of interreligious Dialogue to the Public 3.4.1.1 Concerns over the Relevance of Religion 3.4.1.2 Conquering religious Disparities and Conflicts 3.4.1.3 Provision of spiritual Satisfaction and Enrichment of Knowledge 3.4.1.4 The Principle of Unification as a Solution 3.4.1.5 Socio-political Usages of Cultural Heritage 3.4.1.6 Esteemed social, cultural and academic Significance 3.4.2 Social Theories of Religiousity 3.4.2.1 Religion-Market Model 3.4.2.2 Secularisation Hypothesis 3.4.2.3 Difficult-Dependent Model 3.4.3 Interreligious Dialogue and public Ethics 3.4.4 Effects of religious Disharmony to non-religious People Chapter Four. The Tension of Practicability between interreligious Dialogue and the Public 4.1 Practicability of interreligious Dialogue 4.1.1 Phases of interreligious Dialogue 4.1.1.1 Among Religions 4.1.1.2 Between Religion and the Public 4.1.2 The Search and Review of the missing Link between interreligious Dialogue and the Public 4.2 Tensive dialogic Issues in public religious Relationship 4.2.1 Novelty in Life 4.2.2 Patriotism 4.2.3 Spontaneity 4.2.4 Common Ground 4.2.5 The Case of Westernisation and Proselytism 4.3 Current Challenges to the Practicalisation of interreligious Dialogue 4.3.1 Religious Plurality and cultural Diversity 4.3.2 Official Christian interreligious Teachings 4.3.3 Religious Ignorance in interreligious Relationships 4.3.4 Religious Education and its Methodology 4.3.5 Religious Supremacy/Centralism 4.3.6 Evangelism/Evangelisation 4.3.6.1 The Case of the New-Evangelisation in interreligious Relationship 4.3.7 New Perspective of Intolerance Chapter Five. The Imperative of Practicability: The Model of Mutual Enrichment and other Solutions 5.1 Success and Failures 5.1.1 Tracy’s interreligious Dialogue of the ‘Impossible’ 5.1.2 Jeanrond’s Hermeneutics of Love 5.1.3 Moyaert’s interreligious Hospitality 5.2 Historical Insights 5.2.1 Biblical Context 5.2.1.1 The Creation Account 5.2.1.2 The Tower of Babel 5.2.1.3 The Pentecost 5.3 Search for Solutions 5.3.1 The Notion of interreligious Dialogue as a Solution 5.3.1.1 Interreligious Dialogue as a Public Value 5.3.1.2 The Place of Religion in interreligious Dialogue 5.3.2 The Notion of Truth as a Solution 5.3.3 The Notion of Peace as a Solution 5.3.3.1 Peace in ‘Irreligiosity’! A confronting Irony 5.3.3.2 Religiosity or ‘Irreligiosity’ – A Guarantor of Peace? 5.4 Structural Solutions 5.4.1 Model of mutual Enrichment 5.4.1.1 The Reduction of Religions 5.4.2 Model of Prevention as a Solution 5.4.3 Model of Communication as a Solution General Conclusion Bibliography