Theological Studies

[Catholic thinking about other religious traditions has continued to develop rapidly since the Second Vatican Council. The author discusses the impact of conciliar texts, the thought of John Paul II, the “pluralist” and “regnocentric” theologies of religion, and the practice of interreligious dialogue on Catholic views of other religious paths. The multiple issues selected for discussion reflect the controversy surrounding the declaration Dominus Iesus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.]

[That Judaism is specifically the religion of one people, Israel, shapes its entire discourse about the religious other. Halakhah (Jewish law) defines permitted interactions between Jews and non-Jews, thus setting the parameters for the traditional Jewish theology of the “other.” Applying biblical concerns, Jews are absolutely prohibited from any activity that might generate idolatrous behavior by any human. Rabbinic halakhah expands this discussion to permitted positive interactions with those who obey God's laws for all human civilization, the seven Noahide laws which include a prohibition of idolatry. For non-Jews, fulfillment of these laws is the prerequisite for salvation. The author offers a preliminary analysis of these traditional categories of discourse about identity and their theological implications. She also suggests ways that this may be modified in light of new directions in Jewish-Christian relations.]

[One way to submit oneself to the will of the divine is to contemplate the revelations of the Qur'ân. For Muslims, it is God manifested in human speech and for centuries Muslims have attempted to study the surface and hidden meanings of the Qur'ân in order to know more of Allâh's presence. The author explores how Muslims have used their sacred scripture, the customs of the Prophet Muhammad, and various mystical teachings to become closer to God. The process of knowing God meant being tolerant to other religions, especially to Christians and Jews who are understood as believers of the same God. The issue of pluralism and tolerance of others in Islam is examined to illustrate the complexities of religious ideas of exclusivity.]

[Classical Hindu thinkers perfected their orthodoxy and orthopraxis in part by critiquing alternatives. Relying on hierarchies in knowledge, education, morality, and even human nature, they judged other positions defective versions of their own. Theists additionally found God implicitly present in other incomplete, misguided beliefs providentially permitted by God for a time. Likewise, Hindu theorists of the 20th century, in the light of colonialism and missionary critique, ranked Hinduism's spiritual practice above externalist, historicist, and doctrine-oriented Western religiosity. While none of these Hindu views is identical to dominant Catholic ones, a comparison illumines what is and what is not unique in similar Christian claims.]

[Adherents of a particular religion consider their own tradition as absolutely authoritative for them in regard to ultimate destiny and norms for human living. The author here examines three views of the Supreme Way in Japanese Buddhism, namely, of Kūkai, Dōgen, and Nichiren. He then sets these views in conversation with Catholic perspectives on key religious questions about final destiny and demands of human living. In the process, he demonstrates how engaging in comparative theology can deepen one's understanding of one's own religious tradition seen in intersection with other forms of the Supreme Way.]

[The author summarizes the content of Jacques Dupuis's latest work, Christianity and the Religions: From Confrontation to Dialogue (Orbis, 2002) and indicates some of the points where it differs from his earlier, longer book, Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism (Orbis, 1997). He then reflects on the terminological and substantial issues that Dupuis has taken up in his two works. Both books offer outstanding contributions to interreligious dialogue.]