Religions in Dialogue
From Theocracy to Democracy
Published on 21. November 2002
Book
Hardback
208 pages
978-0-7546-0479-2 (ISBN)
Description
Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as Abrahamic religions, share much theological common ground and the momentum for dialogue between them at theological levels has greatly increased in recent decades. This book explores the relationship between religion and the modern democratic state from the perspective of these three monotheistic traditions. It investigates how the three religions in dialogue might overcome their historic antagonism as a prelude to working for the development of the global common good. As part of the test of religious ideals, some of the contributions bring theory down to earth by examining the role of religion in three democratic states with different histories - Turkey, Indonesia, India - and also in relation to a culture of human rights. Drawing together leading Muslim, Christian, and Jewish authors from America, Europe and Asia, the book presents a rare collaboration of faiths and ideas to make a contribution to studies of inter-religious dialogue and the changing role of religion in the democratic state.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
index
Dimensions
Height: 162 mm
Width: 242 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-7546-0479-2 (9780754604792)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Content
Part 1 Setting the dialogical scene: Introduction - Why democracy and why three religions?, Alan Race and Ingrid Shafer; Commendation - Religion, common values and dialogue, El Hassan bin Talal; The dynamics of dialogue between Jews, Christians and Muslims, Leonard Swidler. Part 2 Religions in the democratic way - Editorial remarks; A. Reflections on Judaism in the democratic way - Democracy, a moral imperative in Judaism, David Rosen; Grounding democracy in reverence for life - a view from Judaism, Irving Greenberg; The ambiguous state of Israel in the modern world, Robert Ash; B. Reflections on Christianity in the democratic way - Contextual theology and the building blocks of democracy, J.B. Banawiratma; Separating God and Caesar?, Leonard Swidler; Taking democracy into a global ethic - the Christian next step, Alan Race; C. Reflections on Islam in the democratic way - Shura, the basis of Islamic support for democracy, Fathi Osman; Democracy at the heart of Islam, Zeenat Shaukot Ali; How democratic is Islam?, Khalid Duran. Part 3 Testing the theory in practice: Editorial remarks; A. Tensions between religion and democracy in three states - Indonesia: a state in transition, Bahtiar Effendy; Turkey - a state on the move, Mehmet Aydin; Secular India - Striving towards a pluralist ethos, Irfan Omar; B. Human rights - a testing ground of the religious support for democracy, The roots of civil and political rights in the Islamic concept of human being, Nurcholish Madjid; Human dignity and rights as essential values in Judaism, Racelle R. Weiman; The complex relationship of the Catholic Church and human rights, Ingrid Shafer. Part 4 The bigger picture: Editorial remarks; Insiders or outsiders? - Propositions for European religions, states and societies, Paul Weller; Global ethic and world religions in an age of globalization, Karl-Josef Kuschel; Weaving threads - deep-dialogue, interreligious encounters and global democracy, Ashok Gangadean.