Religious Issues and Interreligious Dialogues: An Analysis and Sourcebook of Developments Since 1945

(Hardback)

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A monumental collection--essential for academic and seminary libraries and highly recommended for public libraries as well. Library Journal An important new voice in contemporary philosophical- theologial discourse, this book highlights a number of issues that have been of particular concern to scholars, religious leaders, politicians, and the general public since the end of World War II. The contributors' purpose is to force a reexamination of basic concerns in religion, religious beliefs, and religious studies -- and to encourage both a reshaping of entrenched attitudes and a continuation of meaningful dialogue among different religious groups. To this end, they address a wide range of topics, from the perplexing problem of relativism and the issue of feminism in the church to questions of Muslim identity and Hindu-Christian dialogue. Divided into two principal parts, the book begins by exploring a broad spectrum of religious issues. Norbert Samuelson analyzes theism and atheism in Western religious philosophy, Ernest Stoeffler focuses on the parallel trends of conservatism and liberalism in American Protestantism; Gustavo Benavides examines religion and modernization in Latin America. Additional papers address a universal theology, Christianity and sociopolitical thought, postwar neo-Confucian philosophy, among other topics. In the second section, the contributors turn to interreligious dialogues, examining the ways in which various religions have attempted to forge deeper mutual understanding -- often in the face of rising sociopolitical tensions. Taken together, these essays offer an eloquent testimonial to the critical importance of interreligious dialogue in contemporary society. Religious Issues and Interreligious Dialogues will be an important addition to the reading list for studies in world religions, contemporary religious issues, and comparative religion.

Reviews

"This scholarly book is an excellent resource for the serious student of interreligious dialogue. It addresses such topics as relativism, conservatism and liberalism, feminism, modernization, and an analysis of the term "atheism" and "theism..,."."-Compass
This encyclopedic reference will serve scholars and teachers of religion studies throughout the 90s. Although the concerns raised here may not appear directly in undergraduate syllabuses, they cannot be ignored even in introductory courses, and graduate seminars must carefully consider them. The comprehensive bibliographies following each chapter are themselves worth the price of the book. In 27 quite uneven chapters 26 authors present discussions varying widely in content, style, positions, and readability. Chapters are devoted to Christianity (seven), theory and methodology (three), feminism, Islam, Confucianism (two each), Buddhism, Taoism, Japan, and China (one each). The dialogues involve Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Confucianism and Christianity; some are more successful than others. There are rebuttals in only two cases, a technique that could have been more widely used. Certain articles, however, are outstanding--Reuther and Wawrytko on feminist issues, Stoeffler's summary of major trends in Protestantism; Duran, Esposito, and Sonn, who explore what it means to be a Muslim in today's world; Heine's critique of both Buddhism and Christianity; Van Buren, who shows that Jesus is not the central dividing issue between Christians and Jews; Cobb, Lai, and Inada who discuss various aspects of Buddhism in interrelgious dialogue, ending the book on a very positive note.-Choice
This scholarly book is an excellent resource for the serious student of interreligious dialogue. It addresses such topics as relativism, conservatism and liberalism, feminism, modernization, and an analysis of the term "atheism" and "theism..,.".-Compass
Written by leading religious scholars, the 27 articles in this book offer both a broad overview of important issues (e.g., relativism, feminism, conservatism, liberalism, and sociopolitical and moral problems) and a discussion of interfaith and intra-Christian dialogue. All the articles are good, and some truly outstanding: and though a few are specialized in nature, as a whole they do an excellent job of placing the material in philosophical, historical, and social context. A monumental collection: essential for academic and seminary libraries and highly recommended for public libraries as well.-Library Journal
"Written by leading religious scholars, the 27 articles in this book offer both a broad overview of important issues (e.g., relativism, feminism, conservatism, liberalism, and sociopolitical and moral problems) and a discussion of interfaith and intra-Christian dialogue. All the articles are good, and some truly outstanding: and though a few are specialized in nature, as a whole they do an excellent job of placing the material in philosophical, historical, and social context. A monumental collection: essential for academic and seminary libraries and highly recommended for public libraries as well."-Library Journal
"This encyclopedic reference will serve scholars and teachers of religion studies throughout the 90s. Although the concerns raised here may not appear directly in undergraduate syllabuses, they cannot be ignored even in introductory courses, and graduate seminars must carefully consider them. The comprehensive bibliographies following each chapter are themselves worth the price of the book. In 27 quite uneven chapters 26 authors present discussions varying widely in content, style, positions, and readability. Chapters are devoted to Christianity (seven), theory and methodology (three), feminism, Islam, Confucianism (two each), Buddhism, Taoism, Japan, and China (one each). The dialogues involve Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Confucianism and Christianity; some are more successful than others. There are rebuttals in only two cases, a technique that could have been more widely used. Certain articles, however, are outstanding--Reuther and Wawrytko on feminist issues, Stoeffler's summary of major trends in Protestantism; Duran, Esposito, and Sonn, who explore what it means to be a Muslim in today's world; Heine's critique of both Buddhism and Christianity; Van Buren, who shows that Jesus is not the central dividing issue between Christians and Jews; Cobb, Lai, and Inada who discuss various aspects of Buddhism in interrelgious dialogue, ending the book on a very positive note."-Choice

Author Bio

CHARLES WEI-HSUN FU is Professor of Buddhism and Far Eastern Thought at Temple University. He has authored numerous books and articles in the areas of Eastern and Western thought among them, Movements and Issues in World Religions, 1987. He is editor of a series of volumes on Resources in Asian Philosophy and Religion for Greenwood Press. GERHARD E. SPIEGLER is President of Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. Previously he has served as Vice President for Academic Affairs at Temple University and Professor and Chair of the Department of Religion. His publications include contributions to The Eternal Covenant: Schleiermacher's Experiment in Cultural Theology, The Future of Empirical Theology, and Schleiermacher as Contemporary, as well as articles in The Christian Scholar, Religion and Life, Criterion, and Quest.