interfaith dialogue

(noun)

The term interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e., "faiths") or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is distinct from syncretism or alternative religion; this dialogue often promotes understanding between different religions to increase acceptance of others, rather than attempting to synthesize new beliefs.

Related Terms

Examples of interfaith dialogue in the following topics:

  • Ecumenism

    • Interfaith dialogue can occur between different religious denominations that come together and work for a common purpose within their communities.
    • Ecumenism contrasts with the practice of interfaith dialogue, which is aimed at unity, respect, and cooperation among diverse religions.
    • Interfaith dialogue, also known as interfaith pluralism, refers to "religious unity" not in the sense of a single church, but instead by the advocacy of a greater sense of shared spirituality.
    • Many theologians of the Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxies engage in theological dialogue with each other and with some Western churches, but this stops short of full communion.
    • Despite many disagreements over ecumenism and how to approach interfaith dialogue, there exists a sizable group of Orthodox Christians who are vehemently opposed to any kind of interfaith dialogue, whether with other Christian denominations or with religions outside Christianity.

  • Religious Diversity

    • Religious pluralism is sometimes used as a synonym for interfaith dialogue.
    • Interfaith dialogue refers to dialogue between members of different religions for the goal of reducing conflicts between their religions and to achieve agreed upon mutually desirable goals.

  • Religious Denominations

    • At a broader level, the term "interfaith dialogue" refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and spiritual or humanistic beliefs—at both an individual and institutional level.

  • Secularism and the Future of Religion

    • Because religion continues to be recognized in Western thought as a universal impulse, many religious practitioners have aimed to band together in interfaith dialogue, cooperation, and religious peace-building.
    • Recent interfaith initiatives include "A Common Word," launched in 2007, which is focused on bringing Muslim and Christian leaders together, the "C1 World Dialogue," the "Common Ground" initiative between Islam and Buddhism, and a United Nations sponsored "World Interfaith Harmony Week. "

  • Islam

    • Still others have worked to invite interfaith dialogue to improve relations between Muslim and non-Muslim Americans.

  • The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

    • While they are deciding, the dialogue taking place inside their mind is usually a dialogue between their "self" (that portion of their identity that calls itself "I") and that person's internalized understanding of their friends and society (a "generalized other").

  • Sociological Theories of the Self

    • For Mead the thinking process is the internalized dialogue between the "I" and the "me. "

  • Symbolic Interactionism

    • And while they are deciding, the dialogue that is taking place inside their mind is usually a dialogue between their "self" (that portion of their identity that calls itself "I") and that person's internalized understanding of their friends and society (a "generalized other" called the "me").

  • Freud

    • Freud went on to develop theories about the unconscious mind and the mechanism of repression and established the field of verbal psychotherapy by creating psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue between a patient and a psychoanalyst.

  • Theories of Socialization

    • Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue between a patient and a psychoanalyst.