The problem with interreligious dialogue : plurality, conflict and elitism in Hindu-Christian-Muslim relations / Muthuraj Swamy.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Swamy, Muthuraj, author.

Series:

Bloomsbury advances in religious studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Religions--Relations.

Religions.

Relations.

Christianity and other religions--Hinduism--India, South.

Christianity and other religions.

Hinduism.

Religion.

South India.

Christianity and other religions--Islam--India, South.

Islam.

Hinduism--Relations--Christianity--India, South.

Christianity.

Hinduism--Relations--Islam--India, South.

Islam--Relations--Christianity--India, South.

Islam--Relations--Hinduism--India, South.

India, South--Religion.

India, South.

Interfaith relations.

Physical Description:

xv, 230 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

London : Bloomsbury Academic, 2016.

Summary:

Muthuraj Swamy provides a fresh perspective on the world religions paradigm and 'interreligious dialogue'. By challenging the assumption that 'world religions' operate as essential entities separate from the lived experiences of practitioners, he shows that interreligious dialogue is in turn problematic as it is built on this very paradigm, and on the myth of religious conflict. Offering a critique of the idea of 'dialogue' as it has been advanced by its proponents such as religious leaders and theologians whose aims are to promote inter-religious conversation and understanding, the author argues that this approach is 'elitist' and that in reality, people do not make sharp distinctions between religions, nor do they separate political, economic, social and cultural beliefs and practices from their religious traditions. Case studies from villages in southern India explore how Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities interact in numerous ways that break the neat categories often used to describe each religion. Swamy argues that those who promote dialogue are ostensibly attempting to overcome the separate identities of religious practitioners through understanding, but in fact, they re-enforce them by encouraging a false sense of separation. The Problem with Interreligious Dialogue: Plurality, Conflict and Elitism in Hindu-Christian-Muslim Relations provides an innovative approach to a central issue confronting Religious Studies, combining both theory and ethnography. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I The Problem: The Concept and Practice of Dialogue

Chapter 1 Dialogue in Post-Colonial India: A Brief Survey 23

Chapter 2 The Practice of Dialogue: A Case From Kanyakumari District 48

Part II Limitations Of Religious Plurality, Conflict and Elitism

Chapter 3 'Religion' and 'World Religions': Some Contemporary Approaches 71

Chapter 4 Religious Plurality and Dialogue 94

Chapter 5 Are Religions in Conflict? 110

Chapter 6 Dialogue and the Myth of Religious Conflicts: A Case Study 128

Chapter 7 Dialogue as Elitist 145

Part III Multiple Identities as a Challenger

Chapter 8 Religion, Multiple Identities and Everyday Relations Among Ordinary People 163

Chapter 9 After Dialogue 183.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (page 211-227) and index.

ISBN:

9781474256407

1474256406

OCLC:

939857235