Content

This unit builds on the unit ‘Introduction to interfaith Engagement’ by giving students a practical opportunity to engage in interfaith activity. Each student will work with a supervisor to construct a functional model of interfaith engagement. The student will then apply the model to create a relationship with a selected faith community which is not their own, entering into the worship space of the other faith, joining the adherents in their religious practices and ultimately thinking reflexively about the experience, thus enabling the other faith tradition to impact on his or her personal theology.

Each student will share experiences and reflections with the other students in the class, in order to sharpen understanding of the process and potential rewards of interfaith engagement.

Unit code: AR8200T

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Foundational

Unit discipline: Religious Studies

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Trinity College Theological School

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Learning outcomes

1.

Reflect critically on new experiences of interfaith engagement in the light of one’s own beliefs and life-style

2.

Articulate the experiences associated with interfaith engagement and dialogue

3.

Develop capacity to communicate with people who adhere to a different religious tradition

4.

Engage with the practical details of another faith tradition in order to reflect back on one’s own beliefs and behaviours

5.

Reflect critically on the experience of engaging with different faith communities with openness, sensitivity and empathy

Unit sequence

Introduction to Interfaith Engagement

Pedagogy

With the support of the teaching staff, students arrange a placement for participant-observation in a faith community not their own. This work is supervised on a regular basis, either weekly or fortnightly, through meetings with their placement supervisor. In addition the students will report back on their progress and experiences in a formal manner to seminars

Indicative Bibliography

  • Boys, Mary and Lee, Sara S. Christians and Jews in Dialogue: Learning in the Presence of the Other, Skylight Paths Publishing, Vermont, 2006.
  • Firestone, R. An Introduction to Islam for Jews, Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2008.
  • Firestone, R., Swidler, L & Duran, K (eds). Trialogue: Jews, Christians, Muslims in Dialogue: A Practical Handbook, New York: Twenty-Third Publications, 2007.
  • Heft, J., Firestone, R. & Safi, O (eds). Learned Ignorance: An Investigation into Humility in Interreligious Dialogue between Christians, Muslims and Jews. Oxford University Press, 2011.
  • Hettiarachchi, S. Faithing the Native Soil: Dilemmas and Aspirations of Post-Colonial Buddhists and Christians in Sri Lanka. Colombo: CSR, 2012.
  • Knitter, P. Without Buddha I Could not be a Christian. London/New York: OneWorld Publications, 2009
  • Matlins, Stuart. How to be a Perfect Stranger: The Essential Religious Etiquette Handbook, 4th edition, Skylight Paths Publishing, 2006 (1st edition 1995)
  • Matlins, Stuart. How to be a Perfect Stranger, Volume 2: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People’s Religious Ceremonies, Skylight Paths Publishing, 2014
  • Pannikar, Raymundo. Myth, Faith and Hermeneutics. New York: Paulist Press, 1979
  • Swidler, Leonard. ‘Understanding Dialogue’, in Interfaith Dialogue at the Grassroots, Philadelphia: Ecumenical Press, 2008.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

1 x 3000 word essay

0 50.0
Poster

Poster presentation depicting student reflection upon their behaviours and feelings through these encounters (equivalent 1000 words).

0 20.0
Journal

Seminar participation, sharing insights from active experience in another faith tradition, expressed in journal form of 2000 words

0 30.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 1 Nov, 2016

Unit record last updated: 2022-10-04 13:36:47 +1100