Interfaith Dialogue ─ Global Perspectives

This book addresses issues central to today’s Catholic Church, focusing on the relationship between various religions in different contexts and regions across the world. The diverse array of contributors present ?an inclusively interfaith enterprise, investigating a wide range of encounters and perspectives. The essays include approaches from the Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and Baha’i traditions, in a variety of geographic contexts. Contributors reflect on Muslims in the West, Christian-Buddhist social activism, and on Chinese, Indian, and Japanese religions. The volume also explores the experiences of communities that are often marginalized and overlooked such as the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders of Australia and the Karen tribal peoples of Thailand. Contributors examine the works of the Focolare, Gulen, and Rissho Kosei-kai movements, and integrate the vision of Raimon Panikkar and Ken Wilber. Chapters incorporate discussions of dialogue documents such as Nostra Aetate and Dabru Emet, and methodologies such as Receptive Ecumenism, Comparative Theology, and Scriptural Reasoning. Among other goals, the book seeks to offer glimpses into interfaith dialogues across the world and examine what Christians can learn from other religions and global contexts.

Edmund Kee-Fook Chia is originally from Malaysia. He served for eight years as Executive Secretary of Interreligious Dialogue for the Asian Bishops’ Conferences, and taught for seven years at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, USA. Since 2011 he has been teaching at the Australian Catholic University. He is the author of Edward Schillebeeckx and Interreligious Dialogue.