This book is a collection of papers presented and discussed at the 1992 Claremont Conference. Its contributing authors come from various disciplines that share a concern with models and criteria for inter-religious understanding, including religious studies, philosophy of religion, theology, comparative studies, and feminist philosophy.

In the emerging fields of religious and interreligious peacebuilding, the question of monitoring and evaluation is a challenging, yet necessary process. The need to develop comprehensive yet fitting evaluation models for religious and interreligious peacebuilding is not only important for donor interests, but also critical as a means of documenting and learning for peacebuilders themselves. Theories and best practices in monitoring and evaluation have become prevalent in many fields, yet the amount of literature on evaluating intercultural and, especially, religious and interreligious projects remains scant in comparison. This volume offers a unique contribution that not only looks at several of the challenges and implications faced by religious and interreligious peacebuilders but also provides concrete examples of new models and tools for monitoring and evaluating religious and interreligious peacebuilding projects. In doing so, this volume serves as a tool and point of reference for individuals and organizations developing and implementing interreligious dialogue and peacebuilding projects.

A multi-authored volume that explores the theme of the 'religious other' from the perspective of five major religions—Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam—and discusses a range of issues in which interreligious relations are central.

The increasing plurality of religions and world-views in western society has major implications for religious communication in both public and private settings. This study is an important step in an exploration of the consequences of this religious plurality for religious education in primary education. The chief concern of this study is the following question: To what extent is a pedagogic model in which pupils are encouraged to participate in an interreligious dialogue adequate for coping with this religious plurality? To address this question, the author discusses the following research questions: what are the cognitive, the affective and the attitudinal effects of the interreligious model for religious education, and can this model be legitimised? These questions are considered in the context of a discussion of the meaning of religion and an elaboration of the aim of religious education within the context of a secularized and multicultural society.

Annotation Hermans (professor of identity of Catholic schools and religious education, Catholic U. of Nijmegen, the Netherlands) analyzes religious education in the context of globalization as a cultural phenomenon--a phenomenon characterized by processes of rationalization, fragmentation, and transformation. He explores the changing nature of tradition in terms of Christian concepts of transcendence and immanence as it relates to education. After attempting to define the characteristics of religion as experience, language, and practice, he proposes a concept of religious instruction based on "participation." Participatory learning is defined as developmental, social, mediated, and meaningful learning. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

Religious diversity is a persistent theological predicament for Christian thinkers. Historically, theologians have wrestled with the relationship between believing Christians and religious others. The clash between the Christian doctrine of salvation and non-Christian belief systems often comes down to the question, can non-Christians be "saved"? In a pluralist world, a second question arises: can believers of divergent traditions reconcile their theological differences? Is the logical answer that one believer abandon her faith convictions and promote a relativistic mindset? This book draws upon original research, documenting conversations by women in an interreligious dialogue group, to show that when believers converse in honesty, empathy, and patience--in short, when engaged in virtuous dialogue--they can bridge the gap left by theory. When believers from different faiths come together in open conversation, it need not lead to relativism but, instead, can lead to strengthened belief. Sharing convictions with people who believe differently, sincere believers find they often come to hold their own core beliefs with newfound strength.

Exploring the different points of view and 'tones of voice' adopted in theology for the meeting of religions, this book presents a contemporary philosophical and theological engagement with key issues of how different faiths might meet, of comparative philosophy of religion, of the use of aesthetics, of inter-religious ethics and issues relating to the self. Providing a critical evaluation of contemporary liberal, post-liberal and conservative voices, and an engagement with movements such as Radical Orthodoxy and Scriptural Reasoning to mention a few, this book highlights the use of the creative imagination and explores new ideas for the meeting of religions.