| Description |
In defining its position on other religions Christianity has traditionally chosen either exclusivist or inclusivist approaches, that is, it has claimed either exclusive validity or a singular superiority. Other religions were seen as false because they are different from Christianity or as inferior to the extent that they differ. Over the past decades, however, a range of pluralist approaches have been developed within Christian theology, which seek to combine the acceptance of religious alterity with the acknowledgment of theological parity. After brief introductions to the traditional attitudes, the seminar will focus on selected representatives of a pluralist approach and discuss the theological problems involved in the development of Christian pluralist theologies. |
| Literature |
Texts for seminar discussions and a reading-list will be provided in class. For introductory reading: John Hick; Paul Knitter (eds.), The Myth of Christian Uniqueness. Toward a Pluralistic Theology of Religions, Maryknoll: Orbis 1994; John Hick, Brian Hebblethwaite (eds.), Christianity and Other Religions. Selected Readings. Revd. edn. Oxford: Oneworld 2001; Alan Race; Paul Hedges (eds.), Christian Approaches to Other Faiths, London: SCM Press 2008. |
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