Transforming Interreligious Relations: Catholic Responses to Religious Pluralism in the United States

by Leo D. Lefebure

Against the background of the Catholic Church's global organizations and activities in interreligious dialogue, this book focuses on recent Roman Catholic engagement with other religious traditions in the United States, and the significance of this experience of religious pluralism for Christian theology. Each relationship has a distinctive set of challenges, problems, and opportunities. In each relationship, Christians have come to new insights into their scriptures, their traditions, their practices and beliefs. Each relationship has implications for other interreligious relationships and for Christian ident

416 pages, Paperback

Published October 14, 2020

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the generalist approach taken, and can understand the momentum and purpose of the book. However, the author just doesn’t do a great job of transitioning between subjects and tying it all together. Some of the largest social implications and theories are left til the very end when they should’ve been the first chapter as to then weave them throughout the book. Rather, you have to then think and go back to the particular chapters on dialogue to exemplify the theories. Moreover, the chapter connections are weak. It takes many re-readings to discover how the noted themes of wisdom interlink within the sections.

But again, the generalist approach is appreciated, and the momentous surveying work is miraculously detailed. My suggestion to any other reader is thus this - if you are new to interreligious dialogue or Catholic perspectives on comparative theology, start with this book. You get a comprehensive overview. But the moment you begin to become a specialist or take a systematics approach, you’ll recognize this book is very much just a structure without any interior. Lastly, I don’t believe the book does justice to African American dialogue, and I think this highlights some of the issues of decolonialism and inherit biases still present in Catholic relations with the “other.”

Overall, a solid 3 because it did increase my perspectives on Catholic interfaith conversation and I really do think it is a massive undertaking to produce such a broad survey work in the field of theological studies, but it could not handle any inquisitiveness or further systematic questioning.