In Response to the Religious Other

Ricoeur and the Fragility of Interreligious Encounters

By (author) Marianne Moyaert

Hardback - £97.00

Publication date:

24 September 2014

Length of book:

224 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9780739193716

In the vast collection of his writings, the French philosopher Paul Ricoeur only sporadically raised the issue of interreligious dialogue. In this book, comparative theologian Marianne Moyaert argues that Ricoeur’s hermeneutical philosophy offers valuable signposts for a better understanding of the complexities related to interreligious dialogue. By revisiting the key insights of Ricoeur’s wider oeuvre from the perspective of interfaith dialogue, Moyaert elaborates a Ricoeurian interreligious hermeneutic. In Response to the Religious Other provides a coherent interreligious reading of Ricoeur’s philosophy of religion, his hermeneutical anthropology, his ethical hermeneutics. Moyaert shows that Ricoeur makes an exceptionally rewarding conversation partner for anyone wishing to explore the complex issues associated with interreligious dialogue.

This book is essential for studies of hermeneutics, ethics, religious philosophy, global cooperation and hospitality, comparative theology, and religious identity.
In Response to the Religious Other is a masterful and multifaceted resource for the theoretical grounding of interreligious encounter in the twenty-first century. With erudition, insight, and imagination, Marianne Moyaert brings Paul Ricoeur’s hermeneutic to bear on the work of interreligious understanding. Scholars will welcome this affirmation of his contribution to the global conversation, and practitioners of comparative theology will by intrigued by and appreciative of Moyaert's use of Ricoeur in contextualizing their work. All of us who are disturbed by the religious violence and passions of our era will welcome Moyaert’s proposal of vulnerability and hospitality as intellectual and spiritual virtues urgently required today.