The council described as bringing aggiornamento, or fresh air to the
Church, defined the role of inter-religious dialogue in the Church as an
integral element of the Church’s evangelizing mission. The council did not stop
by pointing at the core of the identity of dialogue in the Christian life but
unfolded a way in which we are to live this mission in the world.
With the world becoming
more religious and many urban cities becoming hubs of mass communication making
pluralistic societies—this necessity to be involve in inter-religious becomes
more evident. Either people engage in talks about their faith or they simply
ignore it. The good news is that this interchange happens in ways we are
unaware most of the times. The Council not only made inter-religious dialogue an
essential part of our lives as Christians but it also provided a way to
understand and talk about our experiences with people of other faiths. The
council explained that there are four forms of inter-religious dialogue: The
Dialogue of life, The Dialogue of action, The Dialogue of Theological Exchange
and The Dialogue of Experience.
Many believe that inter-religious
dialogue needs to take place in an intellectual setting, as scholarship discourse
and theological pursue only. However, this is only part of what inter-religious
dialogue is. Instead, inter-religious dialogue is grounded in experience, in
fact, in the experience of the other. At times, encounter is the word chosen to
describe inter-religious experiences—pointing more directly at the face-to-face
experience from which it derives from. The Dialogue of life for instance is
concerned with ‘neighborly spirit’ sharing joys and sorrows and human problems
and preoccupations with people of a different faith, the dialogue of action is concerned
with the collaboration of integral development and liberation of people, that
is working together with people of different faiths for problems that unite us,
and the dialogue of religious experienced is rooted in the riches of spiritual
traditions, prayer and contemplation, faith and ways of searching God.
Pope Francis pointed
out the importance of inter-religious dialogue in a recent visit to Turkey
promoting Inter-Religious dialogue and openness of faith expression. He urged
‘More inter-religious dialogue to help bring peace and end all forms of
fundamentalism, terrorism and irrational fears.’ In his encyclical, Joy of the
Gospel, he addresses the role of dialogue, ‘Inter-religious dialogue is a
necessary condition for peace in the world, and so it is a duty for Christians
as well as other religious communities.’ In a recent meeting in Europe’s
Parliament, where extremism is a persistent threat, Mr. Tajani, ex-president of
the European Parliament said, ‘who shoots in the name of God, shoots at God,’
stressing the importance of how violence in the name of religion hurts all
religions alike. Pope Francis and Mr. Tajani address the same issue alike,
inter-religious dialogue is not only a necessity due to our plural
circumstances but also the source of peace and reconciliation to address
extremism and fundamentalism.
Yet, there are many
that are quick to point out that religion is in fact the problem. Many point
out at ISIS and current extremist and violent group’s motifs to declare
religion as the source of conflict. However, there have been many studies now
that challenge this notion. The Institute of Economics and Peace in conjunction with The Religious Freedom andBusiness Foundation, found no general causal relationship
between religion and conflict when looking at all of the current conflicts in
the world. In fact, the most influential factor affecting peace is the
government type showed the study. The study also indicated that not only is
religion not a factor in conflict in the world, but a peace catalyzer. The
study suggested ‘that freedom of religion is tied to higher levels of peace and
that when religious people are free to do good, they bring powerful resources
that can counter violent extremism and promote social advancement.’
Inter-religious
dialogue and freedom of religion directly shape the way in which we respond to
extremism and radicalism. All four forms of dialogue are able to exist because
of religious freedom and inter-religious dialogue. Extremism and fundamentalism
do not exist in a vacuum. That is, radicals and extremists foster
fundamentalists thoughts in cultures and societies that are closed in which
religious freedom is not a reality. In the same study by The Religious Freedom
and Business Foundation, it was showed that countries with more religious
liberty enjoyed more peaceful societies. In a similar way inter-religious
dialogue seeks to confront radicalism through a theology of encounter, through
all its forms, it promotes and seeks fellowship, justice and unity, it seeks
out members that are becoming isolated, violent and closed-off to be members of
an active and vibrant community that seeks peace and justice.
The Second
Vatican Council put the primacy of inter-religious dialogue in our identity as
Christians. We hold that it is necessary to share, communicate, collaborate and
get to know people of other faith. Pope Francis reminds us that this notion of
being Christian makes us peace-builders in a world that desperately needs it. He
summarizes the foundation of these principles by saying, ‘fanaticism and
fundamentalism, as well as irrational fears which foster misunderstanding and
discrimination, need to be encountered by the solidarity of all believers. This
solidarity must rest on the following pillars: respect for human life and for
religious freedom that is the freedom to worship and to live according to the
moral teachings of one’s religions.’
