Multiple religious belonging: Opportunities and challenges for theology and church

Theological Studies

Volumn 64, Issue 3, 2003, Pages 495-519

  Phan, Peter C ^a  

^a GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 60950275989     PISSN: 00405639     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/004056390306400302     Document Type: Article

References (102)

1. Diane Winston, "Campuses Are a Bellwether for Society's Religious Revival," The Chronicle of Higher Education 44 (January 16, 1998) A60
2. On the implications of multiple religious belonging for Catholic identity, see Peter C. Phan, "To Be Catholic or Not to Be: Is It Still the Question? Catholic Identity and Religious Education Today," Horizons 25 (1998) 159-89
3. Among recent literature on multiple religious belonging, one work deserves particular mention: Many Mansions? Multiple Religious Belonging and Christian Identity, ed. Catherine Cornille (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 2002)
4. henceforth, Many Mansions
5. For this fourfold dialogue of life, action, theological exchange, and religious experience, see The Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Dialogue and Proclamation no. 42 (May 19, 1991)
6. The English text is available in Redemption and Dialogue: Reading Redemptoris Missio and Dialogue and Proclamation, ed. William Burrows (Mary-knoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1993)
7. Catherine Cornille, "Introduction: The Dynamics of Multiple Belonging," in Many Mansions 1
8. See Claude Jeffré, "Double Belonging and the Originality of Christianity as a Religion," in Many Mansions 93-94
9. See Jan Van Bragt, "Multiple Religious Belonging of the Japanese People," in Many Mansions 7-19
10. See Elisabeth J. Harris, "Double Belonging in Sri Lanka: Illusion or Liberating Path?" in Many Mansions 76-80
11. Cornille, "Introduction: The Dynamics of Multiple Belonging," in Many Mansions 2
12. One helpful presentation of contemporary theologies of religions is Paul Knitter, Introducing Theologies of Religions (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 2002)
13. For a brief and lucid summary of his view, with particular application to the issue of multiple religious belonging, see Jacques Du-puis, "Christianity and Religions: Complementarity and Convergence," in Many Mansions 61-75
14. It must be pointed out that the theory that non-Christian religions are "ways of salvation" cannot yet be taught as Christian doctrine but it is at least a sententia communis and theologice certa, and certainly not temeraria and scandalosa. For a recent discussion of the meaning of theological notes, see Harold E. Ernst, "The Theological Notes and the Interpretation of Doctrine," Theological Studies 63 (2002) 813-25
15. For a critical evaluation of Dominus Iesus, see Sic et Non: Encountering Dominus Iesus, ed. Stephen J. Pope and Charles Hefling (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 2002) which also contains the English text of the declaration
16. Dupuis, Toward a Christian Theology 387
17. Dupuis, "Christianity and Religions," in Many Mansions 65 and his Christianity and the Religions 257-58
18. For further reflections on mediated participation, see Dupuis, Christianity and the Religions 163-94
19. "Inclusive pluralism" or "pluralistic inclusivism" is the expression used by Dupuis to describe his own theology of religions
20. See Mohandas Gandhi, Christian Missions (Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing, 1941)
21. The Message of Jesus Christ (Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, 1963). It is well known that Gandhi was much impressed by Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount
22. See Thich Nhat Hanh, Living Buddha, Living Christ (New York: Riverhead, 1995)
23. See Keshub Chunder Sen, Lectures in India, 2 vols. (London: Cassell, 1901-1904). Keshub had a deep personal feeling for Christ and sometimes called himself Jesus Das (slave of Jesus), though he never converted. In his famous lecture "That Marvelous Mystery - The Trinity" (1882) Keshub gave an original interpretation of the Trinity, which is however basically modalist
24. See Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, The Hindu View of Life (London: Allen and Unwin, 1926)
25. An Idealist View of Life (London: Allen and Unwin, 1932)
26. and Eastern Religions and Western Thought (London: Allen and Unwin, 1939)
27. See Swami Akhilananda, The Hindu View of Christ (New York: Philosophical Library, 1949)
28. See M. C. Parekh, A Hindu's Portrait of Jesus (Rajkot: Gujarat, 1953). Parekh came under the influence of Keshub Chunder Sen and was baptized in the Anglican Church in Bombay in 1918. For him, Jesus announced a spiritual rather than secular kingdom and now dwells in us in spirit, binding us to God. A Hindu can have such a spiritual experience while remaining a Hindu, without a need to become a Christian
29. For the acknowledgment of Christ by the Indian Renaissance or Neo-Hinduism, see M. M. Thomas, The Acknowledged Christ of the Indian Renaissance (London: SCM, 1969)
30. and Stanley Samartha, The Hindu Response to the Unbound Christ (Madras: Christian Literature Society, 1974)
31. and the mystical model of Jesus as a guru and friend. See his Jesus Christ at the Encounter of World Religions (Mary-knoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1991) 18-45
32. Raimundo Panikkar, The Intrareligious Dialogue (New York: Paulist, 1978) 2
33. Dupuis, "Christianity and Religions," in Many Mansions 69
34. The following works by Abhishiktananda may be noted: Prayer (Delhi: ISPCK, 1972)
35. Guru and Disciple (London: SPCK, 1974)
36. Saccidananda: A Christian Approach to Advaitic Experience (Delhi: ISPCK, 1974; rev. ed. 1984)
37. Hindu-Christian Meeting-Point (Delhi: ISPCK, 1976)
38. The Secret of Arunachala (Delhi: ISPCK, 1979)
39. Intériorité et révélation: Essais théologiques (Sisteron: Éditions Présence, 1982)
40. The Eyes of Light (Denville, N.J.: Dimension Books, 1983)
41. The Further Shore (Delhi: ISPCK, 1984)
42. La montée au fond du coeur: Le journal intime du moine chrétien-sannyasi hindou (Paris: Oeil, 1986)
43. Enomiya-Lassalle's most famous book is Zen - Weg zur Erleuchtung: Einführung und Anleitung (Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder Taschenbuch, 1992 [1960])
44. On Enomiya-Lassalle, see Werner G. Jeanrond, "Belonging or Identity? Christian Faith in a Multi-Religious World," in Many Mansions 111-15 and Ursula Baartz, Hugo M. Enomiya-Lassalle: Ein Leben zwischen den Welten (Zurich: Benziger, 1998)
45. Among Merton's numerous works, see The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton (New York: New Directions, 1975)
46. Thoughts on the East (New York: New Directions, 1995)
47. Vedanta and Christian Faith (Los Angeles: Dawn Horse, 1973)
48. Return to the Center (London: Collins, 1976)
49. The Marriage of East and West: A Sequel to the Golden String (Springfield, Ill.: Templegate, 1982)
50. The Cosmic Revelation: The Hindu Way to God (Springfield, Ill.: Templegate, 1985)
51. Christ in India (New York: Scribner, 1967)
52. A New Vision of Reality: Western Science, Eastern Mysticism and Christian Faith (London: Collins, 1989)
53. Of Panikkar's numerous publications, see Religionen und die Religion (Munich: Hüber, 1965)
54. L'homme qui devient Dieu (Paris: Aubier, 1969)
55. Le mystère du culte dans l'hindouisme et le christianisme (Paris: Cerf, 1970)
56. Salvation in Christ: Concreteness and Universality. The Supername (Santa Barbara: University of California, 1972)
57. The Trinity and the Religious Experience of Man (New York: Orbis, 1973)
58. The Intrareligious Dialogue (New York: Paulist, 1978)
59. Myth, Faith, and Hermeneutics: Cross-Cultural Studies (New York: Paulist, 1979)
60. The Unknown Christ of Hinduism: Towards an Ecumenical Christophany, rev. ed. (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1981)
61. The Silence of God: The Answer of the Buddha (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1989)
62. The Cosmotheandric Experience: Emerging Religious Consciousness (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1993)
63. For a critical study of Panikkar, see The Intercultural Challenge of Raimon Panikkar, ed. Joseph Prabhu (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1996)
64. See Michael Rodrigo, "Fr. Mike and His Thought," vol. 1, "The Moral Passover from Selfishness to Selflessness in Christianity and the Other Religions in Sri Lanka," ed. Sr. Milburga Fernando, Logos [Sri Lanka] 27/3 (September 1988) i-iv [introduction] and 1-114
65. vol. 2, "Life in All Its Fullness," Logos 27/4 (1988) 1-99
66. Michael Rodrigo, "Tissues of Life and Death: Selected Poems of Fr. Michael Rodrigo O.M.I., Introduction and editorial comment by Elizabeth Harris," Quest [Sri Lanka] 95 (April 1988) 1-88
67. See Aloysius Pieris, An Asian Theology of Liberation (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1988)
68. Love Meets Wisdom: A Christian Experience of Buddhism (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1988)
69. Fire and Water: Basic Issues in Asian Buddhism and Christianity (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1996)
70. God's Reign for God's Poor: A Return to the Jesus Formula: A Critical Evaluation of Contemporary Reformulations of the Mission Manifestation in Roman Catholic Theology in Recent Jesuit Documents (Kelaniya, Sri Lanka: Tulana Research Centre, 1999)
71. Mysticism of Service: A Short Treatise on Spirituality with a Pauline-Ignatian Focus on the Prayer-Life of Christian Activ-ists (Kelaniya: Tulana Research Centre, 2000)
72. quoted by Dupuis, Jesus Christ at the Encounter of World Religions 7-80. Again, this is much at variance with the attitude of a majority of people who dapple in various religions because they believe that all religions express the same core religious experiences or are simply different paths to the same goal of self-realization
73. On December 5, 1970, Swami Abhishiktananda noted: "The best thing is, I think, to hold, even if in extreme tension, these two forms of a unique 'faith,' till dawn may arise" (Ascent to the Depth of the Heart: The Spiritual Diary (1948-73) of Swami Abhishiktananda (dom Henri Le Saux) [Delhi: ISPCK, 1998] 19)
74. See Panikkar, The Intrareligious Dialogue (New York: Paulist, 1978)
75. Pieris, Love Meets Wisdom: A Christian Experience of Buddhism 41
76. Le Saux, La montée au fond du coeur, May 11, 1972, 425
77. See A. Pieris, Fire and Water 154-61
78. See John B. Cobb, Jr., "Multiple Religious Belonging and Reconciliation," in Many Mansions 20-28
79. Nevertheless, Cobb frankly acknowledges that "I do not see multiple religious belonging as the primary way into the future. The primary way is the transformation of the particular religious traditions, at least in the Christian case, through their new encounter with other traditions" (27). He admits however that multiple belongers can contribute to this transformation
80. O'Leary, "Toward a Buddhist Interpretation of Christian Truth," in Many Mansions 30
81. Knitter, Introducing Theologies of Religions xi
82. On comparative theology, see John Renard, "Comparative Theology: Definition and Method," Religious Studies and Theology 17 (1998) 3-18
83. Francis Clooney, Theology after Vedanta: An Experiment in Comparative Theology (Albany: SUNY, 1993)
84. and his, Seeing Through Texts (Albany: SUNY, 1996)
85. also by Clooney, "Comparative Theology: A Review of Recent Books (1989-1995),"
86. Theological Studies 56 (1995) 521-50
87. James Fredericks, Faith among Faillis: Christian Theology and Non-Christian Religions (New York: Paulist, 1999)
88. "A Universal Religious Experience? Comparative Theology as an Alternative to a Theology of Religions," Horizons 22 (1995) 67-87
89. Peter C. Phan, "Doing Theology in the Context of Mission: Lessons from Alexandre de Rhodes," Gregorianum 81 (2000) 723-49
90. his "Doing Theology in the Context of Cultural and Religious Pluralism: An Asian Perspective," Louvain Studies 27 (2002) 39-68
91. See, for instance, Francis Clooney, "God for Us: Multiple Religious Identities as a Human and Divine Prospect," in Many Mansions 44-60
92. John Keenan, The Meaning of Christ: A Mahayana Reading (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1989)
93. Keenan, The Gospel of Mark: A Mahayana Reading (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1995)
94. Peter C. Phan, "The Christ of Asia: An Essay on Jesus as the Eldest Son and Ancestor," Studio missionalia 45 (1996) 25-55
95. Phan, "Mary in Vietnamese Piety and Theology: A Contemporary Perspective," Ephemerides mariologicae 51 (2001) 457-71
96. David Burrell, Knowing the Unknowable God: Ibn-Sina, Maimonides, Aquinas (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame, 1986)
97. Burrell, Freedom and Creation in Three Traditions (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame, 1993)
98. Donald Mitchell, Spirituality and Emptiness (New York: Paulist, 1991)
99. Leo D. Lefebure, The Buddha and the Christ: Explorations in Buddhist and Christian Dialogue (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Or-bis, 1993)
100. David Carpenter, Revelation, History, and the Dialogue of Religions: A Comparative Study of Bhartrhari and Bonaventure (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1995)
101. John Berthrong, All Under Heaven: Transforming Paradigms in Confucian-Christian Dialogue (Albany: SUNY, 1994)
102. See Fredericks, Faith among Faiths 173-77