Post-Doc Project

Thinking Death in Dialogue: Eschatology as a Topic of Intercultural and Interreligious Theology

The habilitation project explores the topic of Eschatology in the context of religious plurality. It is concerned with Christian theologians who are reflecting on Eschatology by drawing not only on Christian, but also on non-Christian ideas of death and afterlife in a constructive way. This process of reception becomes relevant in two theological fields, that is, in intercultural theology with regard to non-Western theologians from predominantly non-Christian contexts, and in interreligious theology with regard to Western theologians dialogically integrating perspectives from other religious traditions into their own theological approaches.

My project examines three main research questions: First, what role does Eschatology play in intercultural and interreligious theology? To explore this question, I seek to provide an overview on Asian contextual as well as Euro-American interreligious Eschatologies that also takes into account their respective historical, socio-cultural, and local contexts. Second, from what non-Christian sources do these theologians draw to develop their Eschatologies, and how do they interpret non-Christian ideas on death and afterlife? Here, selected in-depth case studies will analyze the respective non-Christian eschatological concepts and their Christian reception from a religious-historical, hermeneutical, and theological perspective. Third, what is the contribution of contextual and dialogical Eschatologies to contemporary theological discourses? Do non-Western, Christian Eschatologies illuminate aspects or problems that have hitherto been neglected or overlooked in Western Eschatologies? What can Christians learn from non-Christian perspectives on death and afterlife?

Dissertation Project

Buddhist Interpretations of Jesus
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Perry Schmidt-Leukel

In the history of Buddhist-Christian encounter, interpreters from all major strands of Buddhist tradition have used different ways and strategies either to polemicize against Jesus or to integrate him into their own conceptual framework. The result is a broad spectrum of interpretations of Jesus, ranging from his demonization as an anti-Buddhist impostor to more appreciative depictions as a Bodhisattva or Buddha. In my dissertation, I argue that this plurality of views did not arise in a vacuum, but was rather shaped by external influences, such as the quality of the historical encounter or the interpreters’ own socio-cultural, political, and biographical contexts. In this way, Buddhist interpretations of Jesus also mirror the variegated history of Buddhist-Christian relations in general: For many Buddhists, the first encounter with Christianity took place under the impact of Western colonial politics and Christian mission. Especially in Sri Lanka with its long colonial history, Buddhists perceived Jesus as the threatening figurehead of Western imperialism. However, also in countries such as Japan or China that were never or merely semi-colonized, depictions of Jesus reflected the negative impression exclusivist-minded missionaries made on Buddhists and the fear of Western imperialist intentions. A gradual change from conflict to dialogue emerged primarily after the Second World War. Due to Christian openings and common challenges posed by modernity, various Buddhist interpreters did no longer perceive Christianity as a threat and could therefore develop a more positive attitude towards Jesus.