The Theologies and Practices of Religious Pluralism project convenes a team of international scholars to provide original insights on the transformations that globalization has forced upon all religions, challenging their theology and practices, reshaping their status in public spaces and affecting international relations and daily life.
The experience of religious and cultural pluralism at the local, national and global levels is challenging all religious traditions in their exclusivist “truth claims”, having to respond and come to terms with “the truth of the other.” Our interdisciplinary approach will examine pivotal issues within and across religious traditions, starting within the three major monotheistic religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In a second phase it will expand to encompass other faiths such as Buddhism and Hinduism.
This initiative is jointly promoted and realized under the responsibility of Reset DOC (Italy) and Reset Dialogues (US). This research program and related results were made possible by the support of the NOMIS Foundation.
It is also supported by several partners: the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University (US), the University of Birmingham (UK), the Foundation for Religious Sciences in Bologna and Palermo (Italy), and the Haifa Laboratory for Religious Studies (Israel).
Research agenda
These are the key research questions that the project seeks to address:
—> How religious traditions respond to the increasing social and religious diversity.
—> What is the place occupied by religious differences within each faith and the rank of truth that each religion acknowledges to the others.
—> The extent of engagement in missionary activities, dialogue, tolerance, inclusion, as well as the tendencies toward the exclusion or rejection of Otherness.
—> The novel global condition whereby each religion claims to be unique and different, while at the same time defending its valid universal message for all of humanity, in a peculiar entanglement of universal particularisms and particular universalisms.
Conferences and seminars
- Past Workshops Include:
– Global Catholicism and Religious Pluralism (Rome, 16-17 May 2024)
– Theologies and Practices of Religious Pluralism in Islam (Sarajevo, 20-21 November 2023)
– Theologies and Practices of Religious Pluralism in Judaism (Online, 9 February 2023)
– Theologies and Practices of Religious within Orthodox Christianity (Volos Academy for Theological Studies, 16 January 2023)
– Christianity and Religious Pluralism (European Academy of Religion, 21 June 2022, with Fscire and the Berkley Center at Georgetown University)
– Islam and Religious Pluralism (University of Birmingham, 14-15 June 2022)
- Preliminary Workshops:
– Orthodox Christianities (September 2021)
– Pluralism and Christianity: Disentangling the Concept of Otherness (July 2021)
– Pluralism & Islam: An Interdisciplinary Assessment (June 2021)
– Varieties of Religions (April 2021)
Workpackage on Islam and Pluralism – University of Birmingham
Examines Islamic theology’s acknowledgment of religious differences and its hierarchical interpretation of pluralism. Explores historical encounters with other religions and the internal diversity within the Sunni tradition, addressing the Sunni-Shia dynamics and their impact on negotiations within Islam.
Workpackage on Christianities – Berkley Center / FSCIRE / European Academy of Religion
Investigate historical events’ impact on Christian understanding of religious diversity. Explore the influence of movements like the Ecumenical movement and the Second Vatican Council on shaping perceptions of religious diversity among Christians. They are divided into: Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity and Protestantism.
Workpackage on Judaism – Haifa Laboratory for Religious Studies
Delves into historical case studies where religious pluralism has been central to theological debates and examines its contemporary treatment.
Articles, videos and debates
A dedicated platform is hosting all the multimedia contents produced by this multi-year reflection project: https://www.v-theo.net/.
Check it out!