Principles from inculturation as a key to interreligious prayer: Being religiously revelatory and educative in a diverse world
Abstract
This is a humanistic, interdisciplinary study that explores interreligious prayer as a paraliturgical experience and one of the curriculum forms of religious education. Its primary context is the United States, with potential applications in other international settings. The central thesis: principles of enculturation can guide interreligious prayer as a transformational, religiously educative and revelatory experience of the divine in our religiously diverse world. The root metaphor of “holy envy” serves the purposes of the research which is the appreciation of elements in the other religious tradition that I wish were part of my own tradition. Central to this research is an understanding of one revelation, proposed by Gabriel Moran, of one God that is uniquely and humanly expressed through the various religious traditions of the world. This understanding of revelation allows each religious tradition to be faithful to its own ritual practices and beliefs, while learning about and respecting the ritual practices and beliefs of other religious traditions. This understanding of revelation also supports the two sides of religious education that involve learning to be religious within one’s own religious tradition and learning about other religious traditions in order to gain a better understanding of one’s own tradition. It is this encounter with the other religious tradition that can lead to a transformational experience of new insights gained from the encounter.
Subject Area
Theology|Religious education|Comparative
Recommended Citation
Chesnavage, Charles S, "Principles from inculturation as a key to interreligious prayer: Being religiously revelatory and educative in a diverse world" (2016). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI10191806.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI10191806
