1. Introduction
2. Michael Amaladoss’ Background; A call to dialogue
4. Meaning, goals and Three Faces of Interreligious Dialogue
5. Forms of Interreligious Dialogue
In his discourse of Jesuit in Inter-Religious Dialogue in India, Michael Amaladoss highlights some forms of interreligious dialogue where the Jesuits involved themselves in social and liberative action with other religions. For the Jesuits involvement in Interreligious Dialogue is very much part of their mission which had already been started by the preceding Jesuits in 16th century. The documents of the church speak about four types of dialogue; they are dialogue of action, the dialogue of Life, the Dialogue of Intellectual Exchange, and Dialogue of Experience. Amaladoss, however, adds another type of dialogue that is dialogue as conflict reconciliation[18] in which he believes that this is relevant to the Asian context in general and the Indian context in particular where these types of dialogues have come to the ‘ground’.
He views the dialogue of action as collaboration, not merely with the people who have faith but also with the secular groups. He draws the example when the Tsunami struck the Indian coast, the Jesuits engaged in refurbishing the buildings in the Nagapattinam district, a place known as under the banner of secularism.[19] This form of dialogue is directed towards planning and carrying out projects or actions that will help the entire people, as mentioned earlier. Here the policy or aim of cooperation and respect is adopted to replace hostility and aggression in the ‘other’. By working together, the group enhances the development of their area. Joint projects/actions, such as setting up schools, clinics, water projects, can help to bring people together and also to uplift their human condition. Dialogue of action involves contract in daily life and common commitment to action.
Dialogue of life, in his point of view, is where people strive to live in an open and neighborly spirit, sharing their joys and sorrows, their human problems and preoccupations. In India , as he mentions, the Jesuits have had a strong presence and involvement in the field of education and there are many students and teachers from other religions.[20] In other words, they open the window to the presence of others in their institutions without any hesitation. There was a consensus that an integral education also included religious education. The Jesuits, however, educate them in their own faith (religion). In addition, prayers and passages from scriptures from other religions are also regularly used during the common prayers.
The Dialogue of Intellectual Exchange is understood as specialists seek to deepen their understanding of their respective religious heritages, and to an appreciation of each other's spiritual values. The aim of this dialogue is not to discover the weaknesses of each religion but the dialogue is much more; it involves mutual understanding and the greatest respect for each other.[21] In this stage, Jesuits in India built three centers that promote the study of different religions. It has shown the real results of these collaborations in promoting seminars and publications on intercultural philosophy, and also publish the Hindu-Christian Studies Bulletin by scholars both Hindus and Christians.
The dialogue of religious experience is viewed where persons, rooted in their own religious traditions, share their spiritual riches, for instance with regard to prayer and contemplation, faith and ways of searching for God or the Absolute. Praying together is one common expression that has been used in the dialogue of spiritual experience. Amaladoss acknowledges that praying together with other religions has been happening for many years in India . This notion was introduced by John Paul II when he invited the leaders of other religions to come to Assisi and pray for peace in October 1986.[22] According to Amaladoss the ability to pray together between Hindus and Christians is found easily when the attention is focused on God and not on any particular religious manifestation such as Jesus or Krishna .
Amaladoss, then, mentions another kind of dialogue; Dialogue as Conflict Resolution. The aim of introducing this, in Michael Amaladoss’ point of view is to promote inter-religious harmony and peace and build community where “inter-religious dialogue tensions and communal conflict” is happening.[23] The aim of this interreligious dialogue, according to Amaladoss, is precisely to build up a ‘public’ that is multi-religious. It is inevitable that arising conflicts indicate that there are massive tensions in the community due to discrimination, injustice and misunderstanding, particularly in the Asian context. The question should be raised now; how should interreligious dialogue as conflict resolution be done in the context of a community of people who believe in different religions? He highly recommends four activities that should be implemented in Interreligious Dialogue as conflict resolution.
The first and foremost element of interreligious dialogue as conflict resolution is the ‘Conscientization’.[24] Amaladoss strongly believes that conscientization is a center or source of transforming incorrect attitudes in human life. Creating our own prejudices and stereotypes can influence our perceptions or opinions or even attitudes to others. He suggests that these kinds of attitudes should be changed by creating a new experience of community through dialogue and common action for justice. Doing this, however, is not through performing great preaching or abstract arguments but rather simply involves in multi-religious groups disclosing their problems. It is significant to note that understanding, accepting and respecting others are prominent points to be considered. This means that the possibility of pluralism as part of community lives should be accepted. Accepting pluralism means the ability to accept differences on any levels.
The second aspect of interreligious dialogue as conflict resolution is through creating a Multi-Religious Public Space. He emphasizes that “one way of promoting a multi religious community is to facilitate the formation of voluntary groups based on a variety of cultural, and social interests like music and the arts, sports and other social activities”. [25] Amaladoss believes that as people start belonging to many groups, strong and devious group identities start breaking down. Involvement in multiple groups helps people to identify themselves in a positive way in terms of what brings the groups for common goals and not to identify the identity in a narrow way. [26] These groups, however, must not only be task-oriented but wisely create a space for symbolic celebration of different religions in relaxed way. Schools and colleges are good places to start these groups in various ways.
The third aspect of this activity is the ‘Collaboration in Action’. According to Amaladoss to act together, promoting the equality and justice in a non religious sphere is the most effective way of building multi-religious community. This collaborative network can be done in various ways, such as working together with the governmental and non governmental agencies with the purpose of promoting the development of all without any discrimination. This collaboration also can be manifested at the political level to achieve the neutrality of political institutions. Amaladoss, however, reminds us that these entire collaborative networks should be done in the geographical area with the intention of improving local facilities. Amaladoss draws the example of involvement which breaks down narrow identification when more than two hundred groups came together to move the courts, to demand action in Mumbai ( India ). He believes that common actions (good intentions) are the only way to defeat the basic principle of communalism.
Finally, Deepening the Relationship is one of the activities that have been suggested by Amaladoss in order to proclaim Interreligious Dialogue as conflict resolution. At this point Amaladoss tries to re-emphasize the idea from an outstanding figure in India back in the 19th century. He acclaims that “one of the tools that Gandhi used for promoting inter-religious harmony was inter-religious prayer and meetings”.[27] In these meetings, passages from the different of scriptures of the various religions were read and songs were sung before drawing the conclusion of promoting interreligious peace and harmony. Indeed, the common sharing of the scriptures, prayers and reflections in his view can lead to a deepening of understanding both of one’s own religions and of the others. The aim of this would be to enable the challenges of the shortcomings of religions involved in a constructive way.
6. Obstacles to Dialogue
7. Theological Reflection and Conclusion
Bilbiography
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