86.1 - Miroslav Volf on World Faiths and Their Common Features
Jan 11, 2022
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The theologian Miroslav Volf discusses common features of world religions and interfaith engagement in a globalized world. Topics include understanding diverse religious perspectives, the growth of world religions, political assertiveness of faiths, and the interplay between transcendent and mundane realities in religious beliefs.
Interfaith dialogue must navigate passion, power, and love to foster understanding.
World religions share common features like dualistic views and transformative outlooks for dialogue.
Deep dives
The Relationship Between World Religions and Globalization Processes
World religions and their role in the context of globalization are explored in these lectures. The focus lies on understanding how world religions, including Christianity, interact within an interconnected global framework. The lecturer aims to navigate the complexities of how different faiths coexist peacefully in a world of shared space and interdependence, alluding to the challenges of reconciling particular beliefs with universal claims.
Growth of World Religions and Political Assertiveness
An emphasis is placed on the significant growth of world religions and their increasing assertiveness in the public sphere. The episode highlights the unexpected rise in religious adherence, particularly in Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. Moreover, it delves into how faiths are moving beyond private realms to actively engage in political and cultural discourse, in line with the widespread popularity of democratic ideals.
Distinct Features of World Religions
The podcast underscores six key features that characterize world religions, contrasting them with local or primary religions. These features include a dualistic view of reality, emphasis on individuality, universal claims, transcendence of mundane realities, cultural autonomy, and transformative outlooks. Despite internal and external disagreements, these common features provide a foundation for interreligious dialogues and negotiations.
Emphasizing Human Flourishing in Ordinary Life
The discussion elaborates on the nuanced relationship between world religions, the transcendent realm, and ordinary human existence. While world religions uphold the primacy of the transcendent, they also value human flourishing in everyday life. By illustrating insights from stories such as Job's ordeal, the episode highlights the dual nature of faith that balances transcendence with the pursuit of well-being and justice in worldly affairs.
In his lecture “World Faiths and Globalization: What Are They and Why Do They Matter?” delivered at the 2014 Payton Lectures, Miroslav Volf explored six common features shared by world religions, suggesting a frame for interfaith engagement in an increasingly globalized world.
In response, Mark Labberton considered the complexities that passion, power, and fear bring to interfaith conversations—and questioned how love might also play a part.
At the time of recording, Miroslav Volf was director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture and Henry B. Wright Professor of Systematic Theology at Yale Divinity School. Mark Labberton is president of Fuller Seminary.
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