Notes in CFE 5A – CICM Mission in Action: JPIC, IPs and IRD

Chapter 3
INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE

CONTEXT

Brainstorming
Complete the statement: “When I get into conflict, I usually…”

WAYS IN DEALING WITH CONFLICT

1. Move away. Avoid the situation or withdraw. (FLIGHT)
This option is normally chosen when the issue is trivial or when the person in
conflict believes that s/he has no power to change the situation.
2. Move against. Win the battle. (FIGHT)
This option is taken when the issue is important, the party thinks that s/he is right
and is bent to prove that, or s/he has the power to achieve his/her goals.
3. Give up or give in. (ACCOMMODATE)
This option is taken when the goal is to preserve harmony in the relationship. It is
also taken when the other party recognizes the validity of the other’s viewpoint.
4. Give half. Meet in the middle. (COMPROMISE)
This option is reached when both parties cannot get what they want fully and are
willingly to give up part of their goals.
5. Move towards. Dialogue or collaborate with your adversary.
(FACE/COLLABORATE)
This option is taken when both issue and relationship are important to the parties;
hence, a mutually acceptable solution is sought.

THE COLLABORATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH

When the relationship with the other person is important and the conflict issue is
also important, it is recommended that we use the collaborative problem-solving
approach.
•STORYTELLING •FOCUSING
II. Focus the
discussion
I. Exchange on each
information other’s
on what interests
happened. and needs.

IV. Evaluate III. Generate

the options options that
and agree will bridge
on the best opposing
option. interests.
•AGREEING •THINKING UP

Personal Reflection
What are the words that you hear from family members, colleagues and people
from other cultures that hurt you? What is it in their manner of speaking that might also
hurt you? What type of body language might also hurt you?
If the above are the words and ways that are hurtful to you, what are the
alternatives that you desire?

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Notes in CFE 5A – CICM Mission in Action: JPIC, IPs and IRD
SOME PRINCIPLES OF NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION
1. Forcing others to feel, think or act the way we wish stops communication.
We do so when we make demands, threats and punishment.
2. Judging others puts them “in a box.”
Preconceived notions about others preclude communication as they have been
previously labeled.

BASIC STEPS TO NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION

1. OBSERVE THE SITUATION WITHOUT EVALUATING OR JUDGING.
State what is actually occurring in a situation. This way, you do not judge, you are
just making an observation.
When your younger sibling refuses to lend you his/her jacket, do not say “You are so
selfish”. A pure observation might be: “I have no jacket. You have an extra one.”
Judgments include statements like “They are terrorists” or “They are land-
grabbers”. Such statements tend to blame, insult, put-down, label, or criticize the other.
When we judge, we also use global words that tend to exaggerate what really is. Some
examples of these global words are: always, never, ever, often, frequently, and seldom.
When we say “You never have been charitable, ever,” we obviously make a judgment.
2. IDENTIFY A FEELING.
After observing, identify a feeling inside of you that is related to the observation.
When your younger sibling refuses to lend you his/her jacket, it may leave you feeling
frustrated, upset, worried, sad or angry. You may also feel some fear that your younger sibling
may carry on such attitude in other settings. Hence, you can communicate your feeling by saying
“That worries or saddens me.”
3. IDENTIFY YOUR NEED, DESIRE OR INTEREST
We have a tendency, in situations of tension, to communicate our demands. But
making demands is unhelpful. We have to learn how to distinguish demands from need
or interest.
You might need to borrow your sibling’s jacket because you are going to a cold part of the
country. Hence, you may say “I am going to Baguio tomorrow.”
4. FORMULATE A REQUEST
Formulate a request based on one’s observations, feelings and needs. Requests
should be positive and specific. It should be made gently without sarcasm or threat.
You might want to make this request to your younger sibling: “I am worried because I am
travelling to Baguio tomorrow morning and I heard that it is really cold there now. May I request
you to lend me your extra jacket?”

WHY NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION?

We have to learn how to communicate non-violently because it can help prevent
or minimize the occurrence of conflicts. Conflicts may be caused by misunderstanding,
misperception and miscommunication, among others. Nonviolent communication is not
only a tool for conflict prevention. It can also be a tool for conflict resolution.

Introduction
The twenty first century is a fascinating period that has ushered in “a renewed
prominence of religions”. Such prominence is caused by the religious issues and conflicts
that continue to attract public opinion with the help of vigorous marketing or
commodification of religion through the information storage facilities such as the
internet. Indeed this century is an extraordinarily stimulating time to talk, think, and
write about world religions. The mediatization of the world is breaking the cultural,
racial, linguistic and geographical boundaries that the world has not previously
experienced.

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Notes in CFE 5A – CICM Mission in Action: JPIC, IPs and IRD
Worldwide Percentage of Adherents by Religion (Source: Pew Research Center)

Top Ten World Religions (Source: Britannica.com)

1. Christianity – more than 2 billion
2. Islam – 1.8 billion
3. Hinduism – 1.1 billion
4. Buddhism – 500 million
5. Shinto – 104 million
6. Sikhism – 25 million
7. Judaism – 14 million
8. Daoism – 12 million
9. Muism – 10 million
10. Cao Dai – 4.4 million

Size and Distribution of World Religions (Source: World Economic Forum)

REALITY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM

Reality is plural. At least this is how we experience it. But this experience of
multiplicity has spawned problems in many aspects of human life. It is in the area of faith
that this experience can be most problematic. Due to the pressing problems brought by
the phenomenon of religious pluralism, one is moved to a realization that the “pluralist
mindset is important in understanding the theology of religious pluralism”. The pluralist
approach brings a great challenge: in our missio ad extra, a tremendous paradigm shift is
needed. We are challenged to reach out to the religious-others not as going to them
(pagans and non-Christians) and convert them (missio ad gentes) but to reach out to
religious-others – to live with and among them (missio inter gentes).

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Notes in CFE 5A – CICM Mission in Action: JPIC, IPs and IRD
There are serious issues facing the fact that there are different religions with
contrasting claims. Today more than ever, encounters between and among religions are
taking place constantly and at a very fast pace. Because of the advancement of technology
especially in the areas of travel and communication, we realize that the world has
considerably shrunk before our eyes. We are now living in a global community where
everybody rubs elbows with everybody else. Religion has been globalized; as people
have become more mobile and connected by fast means of communication, religions have
crossed traditional boundaries and established their homes with others beyond their
borders. The meeting of different religions in a global community poses the problem.
How should each religion see itself in relation to the other to maintain peaceful inter-
existence and perhaps be a force together with others for societal transformation?

LEARNING THE LESSONS: GOING BEYOND BORDERS

The genius and insight of pluralist mindset poses a great challenge of re-creating
the Christian tradition not only as an option but an imperative. This is not only because
of the external demands for transformation exerted on Christian communities by history
and culture. This is our response to Jesus’ words, “read the signs of the times”. But there
is something inherent in Christianity that necessitates this constant process of change –
the incarnational nature of the Christian faith.
We are in a new historical situation – "one that is no longer dominated as in the
last century, by religious indifference and secularization but by the plurality of religious
faiths”. This is also the result of a real doctrinal revolution ushered in by Vatican II in its
pronouncement of a positive judgment on non-Christian religions. Religions have
something positive to offer to one another, which are not just functionally or dynamically
equivalent. What the religions are offering and saying is not the same thing, in different
forms, but unique and irreplaceable ways of salvation.
Crossing boundaries leads us into the diversity of truth conditions of other cultural
and religious traditions. Truth lies also elsewhere, outside the walls of Christianity and
the Church. Since Vatican II, crossing frontiers has become a central concept in pastoral
efforts to open out a dialogue with the world and all its cultures and traditions (Gaudium
et Spes). Crossing frontiers leads us to the world of the new generation that emphasizes
religious freedom, self-emancipation and group solidarity. It also leads us to the issues
raised by feminism and ecology as well as fundamentalism and secularism.
There is a great need to address the challenge to enlarge the space for interreligious
exchange, intercultural communication and interfaith witness, and this is inevitable.
Acknowledgment of the fragility and limited nature of all human discourse about the
divine is significant. Christian theology tells us that God is the foundation of all
knowledge and makes dialogue between the world and religions and between believers
and non-believers possible. Openness to the religious-other would uncover potentialities
for approaching the plural mystery of God and the riches of God’s infinite wisdom.
Due to this pressing problem of religious diversity and the dream for collaboration
with the "religious others", it is imperative to discuss the conditions of the possibility of
interfaith dialogue. Interfaith dialogue is the exchange of experience and understanding
between two or more partners with the intention that all partners grow in experience.
This definition implies that dialogue is not a mere gathering of persons. Dialogue is
rather a meeting of two or more participants with the intention of communicating and
sharing their experiences. The goals of dialogue range from simply fostering mutual
understanding and tolerance, to promoting collaboration and friendship, to serving the
purpose of mutual transformation and growth.
Conditions for Interreligious Dialogue
1. Dialogue must be based on personal religious experience and firm truth claims.
2. Dialogue must be based on the recognition of the possible truth in all religions; the
ability to recognize this truth must be grounded in the hypothesis of a common
good and goal for all religions.
3. Dialogue must be based on openness to the possibility of genuine
change/conversion.

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Notes in CFE 5A – CICM Mission in Action: JPIC, IPs and IRD
INSPIRED WORD OF GOD: Jesus and the Samaritan Woman (John 4:4-42)
Jesus tired from his journey sits by Jacob’s well. Moved by God’s love… Jesus
begins a dialogue with the woman, asking her for a drink. Jesus is not disturbed by the
woman’s initial resistance, and carries on a dialogue… In the end, the woman puts down
her water jug and hurried to tell people about the Christ.

This Gospel passage exemplifies the encounter with Jesus. It underlies the
following essential elements.
- The initiative comes from Jesus. He waited by the well. He was the one who
opened the conversation by asking for a drink.
- There is active participation from the person: the woman came to the well; she
expressed herself openly.
- There is a meeting of persons and a progress in their dialogue. Jesus is not
disturbed by the woman’s initial resistance, and carries on a dialogue that
develops through the woman’s 7 answers to Jesus’ 7 statements.

The story of the meeting of Jesus and the Samaritan woman mirrors the long-
running hostility between the Samaritans and Jews. Originally, both people belonged to
similar traditions but because of historical circumstances, the two developed in separate
directions. The result was that Jews looked down on Samaritans because they were
supposed to be a mixed race. Of course, the Samaritans did not like this and responded
in kind.
This hostile relationship remained even up to the time of Jesus so that the disciples
were shocked to find Jesus talking to a Samaritan and to a woman. But Jesus did not see
the cultural and gender divide as a reason for not relating in a humane way with others.
As it was His usual way, He breached the wall of division to reach out to the other in
charity and openness. Such is the missionary way.

CHURCH TEACHING
Nostra Aetate, the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian
Religions, is the main Second Vatican Council document on other religions. Nevertheless,
it is seminal and not fully developed. Two important themes of Nostra Aetate are the
necessity of interreligious dialogue and the discernment of the “rays of truth” in other
religious traditions
With Nostra Aetate, the seeds of truth and holiness in other religious traditions
are now recognized. This well-known statement opened the door to relationships with
other faiths. This statement of the magisterium went beyond domination and conversion.
Redemptoris Missio (RM), the Encyclical on the Permanent Validity of the
Church’s Missionary Mandate, gives more details on interreligious dialogue. It was
issued by Saint John Paul II on December 7, 1990 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary
of the Vatican II Conciliar Decree Ad Gentes on the Missionary Activity of the Church.
The Spirit, who “blows where he wills (Jn 3:8), who “was already at work in the
world before Christ was glorified” and who “has filled the world ... holds all things
together and knows what is said” (Wis 1:7), leads us to broaden our vision in order to
ponder his activity in every time and place. (RM 29, part of Chapter III – The Holy Spirit:
The Principal Agent of Mission)
Missionary activity proper, namely the mission ad gentes, is directed to “people
or groups who do not yet believe in Christ,” “who are far from Christ,” in whom the
Church “has not yet taken root” and whose culture has not yet been influenced by the
Gospel. (RM 34, part of Chapter IV – The Vast Horizons of the Mission Ad Gentes)
Interreligious dialogue is a part of the Church’s evangelizing mission. Understood
as a method and means of mutual knowledge and enrichment, dialogue is not in
opposition to the mission ad gentes; indeed, it has special links with that mission and is
one of its expressions. (RM 55, part of Chapter V – The Paths of Mission)
Dialogue does not originate from tactical concerns or self-interest, but is an activity
with its own guiding principles, requirements and dignity. It is demanded by deep
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Notes in CFE 5A – CICM Mission in Action: JPIC, IPs and IRD
respect for everything that has been brought about in human beings by the Spirit who
blows where he wills. Through dialogue, the Church seeks to uncover the “seeds of the
Word,” a “ray of that truth which enlightens all men”; there are found in individuals and
in the religious traditions of mankind. Dialogue is based on hope and love, and will bear
fruit in the Spirit. Other religions constitute a positive challenge for the Church: they
stimulate her both to discover and acknowledge the signs of Christ’s presence and of the
working of the Spirit, as well as to examine more deeply her own identity and to bear
witness to the fullness of Revelation which she has received for the good of all. (RM 56,
part of Chapter V – The Paths of Mission)

METHODS OF FACILITATING INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE (RM 57)

A vast field lies open to dialogue, which can assume many forms and expressions:
- from exchanges between experts in religious traditions or official representatives
of those traditions to cooperation for integral development and the safeguarding
of religious values; and
- from a sharing of their respective spiritual experiences to the so-called “dialogue
of life,” through which believers of different religions bear witness before each
other in daily life to their own human and spiritual values, and help each other to
live according to those values in order to build a more just and fraternal society.

UNDERSTANDING DIALOGUE
Dialogue and One’s Religion
Dialogue does not mean giving up one’s religion or changing it. Right from the
start, it is important to remember that when we come to dialogue, the purpose is neither
to give up our religion, to compromise nor to change it.

Aims of Dialogue
Dialogue aims at making our religion and culture intelligible to others. The world
of religions is replete with misunderstandings and prejudices perhaps more so today than
earlier due to the speed with which news in the electronic media travels. Dialogue can
clear up misunderstandings and remove prejudices. Dialogue promotes and deepens
understanding between the religions. The goal is to understand other religions as they
understand themselves. This step aims at facilitating communication between people of
different faith-traditions.

Understanding and Information

The core of the communication process is UNDERSTANDING. Understanding is
qualitatively different from information. The informational level is an important step on
the road to understanding. That is why one must neither neglect nor underestimate the
difference between them.
Whereas information is USEFUL because it is descriptive by nature,
understanding is TRANSFORMATIVE. For information to be useful, it has to be as
precise as possible – and in our day, it also has to be fast.
Understanding employs the language of symbol and metaphor; it is low on
description and high on evoking an experience. Understanding takes off from
information in much the same way that a plane takes off from the ground, into space, into
the world of air and the winds. Understanding transports us to the world of the reality
as codified by a text. Briefly, when understanding takes place we enter into the world of
reality as experienced by the speaker. The deeper we understand the world of the other,
the deeper we enter into the world of the other.
Understanding always takes place within a specific cultural context. Many values
and attitudes are like culture-specific jokes that cannot be understood from outside their
culture. An apparent familiar belief expressed in a common language, is in fact, a trap. It
creates an illusion that understanding is taking place. Wherever we go, we always carry
with us our values and attitudes from the soil of our cultural perception.

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Notes in CFE 5A – CICM Mission in Action: JPIC, IPs and IRD
Culture and Cosmovision
Culture is the most comprehensive influence on us. There is a specific experience of
reality and a corresponding understanding of truth. The specific experience of reality refers
to a specific understanding of God, World and Man/Woman – what we have been calling
cosmovision. A cosmovision, a concretization of culture, brings out the special character of
a culture.
A cosmovision cannot be known directly but only indirectly when we encounter
another cosmovision. In the encounter, some differences come to the fore. A dialogical
encounter brings out the differences between cosmovision regarding values and
attitudes, rites and rituals, prayers and hymns, and music, art and literature, etc. For all
of us, our own cosmovision, our culture and religion make eminent sense; that is the
reason why they are always taken for granted but not so the cosmovision, culture and
religion of others.
In the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church, with an ecclesiology of “Outside the
Church there is no salvation”, went on rampage to baptize everyone with the
“cosmovision” belief that unless people were baptized, they cannot go to heaven. Now,
with the discovery of oil in the Middle East in the 1970’s, there is this Islamic Global
renewal. Like the Christendom of the Middle Ages, the fulcrum of Islam in the Middle
East asserted their Islamic faith as the ONLY WAY to be saved. They are operating in
their own “cosmovision” as we did before.

God’s Absolute Revelation and Man’s Relative Redemption

We are at home in our own culture as others are at home in their cultures. We need
to realize that we are limited human beings. In spite of the absolute nature of God’s revelation,
we, contingent beings, can receive absolute revelation only relatively in our finite minds, hearts
and beings.

Religion and Culture

A belief is valid in the faith-world where it was born, not outside it. The experience of
reality and truth is expressed in the language of its culture. Beliefs of a religion are all
expressed in the language of its culture. That is why the beliefs of one culture are not
automatically intelligible to those of another culture.

The Dialogue of Religions and Cultures

With this, we have to locate the nature and role of dialogue, especially the dialogue
of religions and cultures. The following considerations could help to understand the
process of dialogue better.
A culture’s perspective, though valid, always remains PARTIAL and LIMITED.
That is the reason why we need to share with one another our experience of reality and
the truth of our revelation. Given the differences between our cultures, it is necessary to
become familiar with our neighbor’s culture.
Dialogue is an OFFERING because it is ever extended not only in the pleasantness
of appreciation but also in, and even beyond, the pain of rejection. It is an offering because
it respects the antipathies of both parties and the pace with which they strive to ease their
hurts and to heal their wounds. Here, dialogue is compassion.
Besides being an offering, dialogue is a CHALLENGE as well. It asks of a believer
whether his/her faith does not require him/her to rise above his/her prejudices, even
those that stem from real pain. It is a challenge to scrutinize the pain-filled past yet hope
still to start a chain of happy memories for tomorrow. Dialogue is above all a
COMMUNION of people in total surrender to God, who persist in the hope that all can
have a change of heart.

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Notes in CFE 5A – CICM Mission in Action: JPIC, IPs and IRD
MISSIONARY RESPONSE AND QUIZ-ASSIGNMENT: Inter-Faith Prayer Service
Guide
In line with fostering harmony and promoting unity among religions, the class
shall be divided into groups (refer to attached list of group assignments) and each group
shall come up with an inter-faith prayer service video guide.
Each group shall be assigned a particular theme for the inter-faith prayer service,
which can be one of the following:
- Justice in the Major Faith Traditions
- Peace in the Major Faith Traditions
- Integrity of Creation in the Major Faith Traditions
- Dialogue between Hinduism and Christianity
- Dialogue between Buddhism and Christianity
- Dialogue between Confucianism and Christianity
- Dialogue between Taoism and Christianity
- Dialogue between Shintoism and Christianity
For reference purposes, copies of the document guides to the prayer services themed
“The Word in the Major Faith Traditions”, and “Dialogue between Islam and
Christianity” are provided.
Groups shall come up with a video output and name it as <Group # - Course, Year
and Section – Quiz-Assignment F-3>. (Example: Group 1 – BSE 3-A – Quiz-Assignment F-
3). The group leader (which should be identified and communicated to the instructor
ASAP) shall submit the output through Google Classroom by December 01, 2020
(Tuesday), 11:59 pm, for Tuesday Classes, and by December 10, 2020 (Thursday), 11:59
pm, for Thursday Classes.

Prepared by:
MICHAEL ANGELO F. EMPIZO
Saint Louis College, City of San Fernando, La Union
Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious
November 17, 2020

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