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Document Details :

Title: Theology of Religion and Interreligious Study
Subtitle: A Need for Conversation and Collaboration
Author(s): KIRK, Ashlee
Journal: Louvain Studies
Volume: 37    Issue: 2-3   Date: 2013   
Pages: 273-306
DOI: 10.2143/LS.37.2.3038715

Abstract :
In general, Christian scholars interested in the world’s religions have one of two options: theology of religion or interreligious studies. Rarely is sustained dialogue established between these two disciplines. This article analyzes particular cases from each field in order to reveal that there is considerable distance and difference between the disciplines, despite their sharing of at least one object of study: religion. While Roman Catholic magisterial theology of religion studies other world religions abstractly from the perspective of Catholic sources and teaching in order to understand the role of other religions in a world saved by Christ, the Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies, serving as a forum for interreligious studies, features authors who choose to study other religions concretely in order to learn about and from other religions traditions. These different starting points lead the fields to different emphases and, at times, conclusions that challenge one another. Such challenges beg for dialogue between theology of religion and interreligious studies. Theology of religions calls for a deeper reflection on the theological implications of the findings uncovered by those engaging in interreligious studies, and interreligious studies stresses the need for a humbler, more concrete theology of religion.

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