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Document Details :

Title: Engaging with a «Clash of Civilisations»
Subtitle: Liberal Views of Religion in the Public Domain and Catholic Approaches
Author(s): D'COSTA, Gavin
Journal: Studies in Interreligious Dialogue
Volume: 17    Issue: 1   Date: 2007   
Pages: 31-45
DOI: 10.2143/SID.17.1.2022750

Abstract :
This essay examines a variety of liberal approaches concerning the view of how religions should operate in the public domain. The author notes various problems within these approaches from a Roman Catholic standpoint, with brief attention to Islam. He then examines the way in which Catholicism has negotiated modernity, from its initial deep resistance to its eventual critical engagement in Vatican II. The author argues that the Catholic approach provides a constructive alternative to the liberal approaches and that the Catholic approach has various parallels within the Muslim tradition. It is acknowledged that there are varieties of approach within each of these religious traditions, but the author focusses on one in particular that also has special legitimation from Vatican II. In this sense, the religions can make a special contribution to the current debate and offer a thoughtful critique of the prevailing secular approaches.

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