U1L2:
World Religions and
Religious Pluralism
Specific Learning Outcomes:
Students will…
• focus on interreligious dialogue and the
importance of respect and appreciation for
the other religions that Catholics encounter
• examine four forms of interfaith dialogue and
use case studies to apply principles of
interfaith dialogue that have been identified
by the Catholic community
I Believe in Respect
• Discuss:
i.
Can you identify with any of the voices or situations
in the video? If so, how?
ii. Have you ever made assumptions about others
based on what you think you know, rather than what
you actually know?
iii. Imagine you are living in a town in which your faith
or religious affiliation is a minority. How would that
feel? How would you want others to treat you?
iv. What are the potential benefits of learning about
other faiths?
Interreligious Dialogue
• We will discuss the guidelines for interreligious
dialogue proposed by the Vatican II Council and
their implications.
• We will be discussing the four guidelines and
their implications for interreligious dialogue
(starting on page 21).
• When we are done you will list each guideline
and identify one or two key points of each
implication in your OWN WORDS.
1. God’s Salvation Is Offered to All People
• Since Vatican II, the Catholic Church has taught that all human beings can be
saved, even if they are not baptized or do not believe in Christ.
• Catholics believe God—Father, Son, and Spirit—is the creator of all humanity.
• All humans are images of the same God.
• All humans are one in spite of all their differences.
• There is only one way of salvation and it comes as a gift from God, offered to
all.
Implication
• Other religions are ways of life that are filled “with a profound religious
sense.”
• They can lead to salvation because all humans can achieve salvation by
following their conscience.
• All human beings find their origin and ultimate happiness in God, whatever
their religion.
• All religions are an expression of the quest to look for God.
• Catholics see goodness in the minds and hearts of men, and in their diverse
religious practices and cultures.
2. Jesus Christ Is Present in Other Religions
• Catholics believe
– God is the creator of all human beings
– Because all human beings are created in the image of God, they are the
image of the Trinity, and also reflect Jesus Christ
– Jesus is the only way to God
• During Vatican II, the Church professed the beliefs that
– God wants all people to be saved, even non-members of the Church
– there is one universal plan of salvation in which all humans take part, even
if they don’t realize it
– Christ is present in other religions in some manner
– the fullness of Christ can only be found where Jesus is fully worshipped and
followed
– the love in other religions is not separate from the love God has for all
humanity in Christ
Implication
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Catholics see “rays” of Christ or “seeds” of the Word in other religions, even
though other religions do not see Christ in their religion.
Catholics speak openly about Christ to other religions to identify similarities and
unity with another religion.
Christ is the great mystery of God’s love at the centre of Catholic faith, and this
is the message Catholics bring to others.
3. The Holy Spirit Is at Work in Other Religions
• The mission of the Spirit is to complete the work of Jesus and lead people to
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Christ and to the full truth.
The Holy Spirit completes and realizes what Jesus Christ set in motion
during his life.
Jesus’ story needs to be told everywhere.
Catholics believe the Holy Spirit works within each person.
The Holy Spirit offers all people the possibility of being associated with the
paschal mystery, and therefore the Church recognizes there is much that is
good, true, and holy in other religions.
Implication
• Catholics believe they may also come to a fuller truth about Jesus by
listening to the workings of God in all religions.
• The same Holy Spirit that lives in the Church lives in other religions.
• What the Spirit does in other religions will not contradict what it flourishes
in the Church.
• While many differences may exist among people, the differences are less
important than the unity.
4. Dialogue Is Part of the Church’s Mission
• Interreligious dialogue is an act of the Holy Spirit leading people to the truth.
• Catholics believe the Holy Spirit flourishes in the Church.
Implication
• If the Spirit is at work in other religions, it must be found and appreciated and
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received by the Church.
It is the Church’s mission to listen to what other religions have to say and
discern what is of God and what is not of God.
Dialogue is essential.
The Church accepts that God is found in prayers, practices, insights, and
traditions of other religions.
If the Church fails to be receptive of other religions, it may be failing in its
mission to proclaim Christ.
Proclamation and Mission
• The history of the Catholic Church is full of good and courageous works, and
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of holy and faithful people.
At times, it has also lost sight of the dignity of all people of other religions.
Catholics still believe what God did through Jesus Christ is essential for human
life to flourish.
The Church must and always will proclaim the Good News of the Gospel.
The mission of evangelization, of bringing the Gospel to others, must
continue.
New efforts are being made to bring the Gospel to countries in the West,
where people are doubtful and skeptical.
Pope John Paul II called for a “new evangelization”—new in its enthusiasm,
method, and expression.
It should be done with respect to the different paths of different people, and
with sensitivity to the diversity of cultures so that particular values are not
rejected.
Part of new evangelization is dialogue with other religions.
The first aim is not conversation, but mutual understanding.
Mission of the Church
• Read: Acts 17:22–32—Paul’s speech to
the Athenians at the Aeropagus.
• This lesson describes the development
throughout history of the Church’s
understanding of its mission to nonChristians and the method of this
evangelization, which includes the
practice of interreligious dialogue.
The Four Types of Interreligious
Dialogue
• As we learn about the FOUR types of
Interreligious Dialogue please create a
concept map or other graphic organizer
to better understand the information.
• It should look like what is on the next
slide.
Four Types of Interreligious Dialogue
• All Catholics are called to participate in interreligious dialogue.
• In dialogue, Catholics give witness to what they believe, deepen their
religious commitment, and seek to understand the other’s way of life.
• in 1991, the Church’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue outlined
four ways of achieving dialogue
1. The Dialogue of Everyday Life
• It is a dialogue of courtesy, openness, and becoming good neighbours.
• It means sharing what we have in common: our joys and sorrows, helping the
needy, understanding the challenges others face living in Canada as part of a
minority religion or culture.
2. The Dialogue of Action
• The Gospel of Jesus aimed to create a new humanity, to take care of the poor
and the sick, to bring back those who are excluded, to liberate the unfree and
addicted.
• This concern for others, for their full development as persons and their need
for freedom, is shared with other religions.
• Catholics can work with other religions for the well-being of humanity, to
safeguard the rights of individuals, promote people’s aspirations for
happiness, protect nature, show solidarity with the victims of injustice, and
struggle for peace and justice.
3. The Dialogue of Theological Exchange
• Church leaders and theologians must take part in intellectual dialogues to
understand each other’s religious traditions, ways of life, and spiritual values.
• Once mutual trust has been gained, bitterness from past actions,
inconsistencies in each other’s positions, prejudices, and human rights can be
discussed.
• Catholics will find reincarnation, worshipping of deities, polygamy, and the
caste system unacceptable, but they must become part of the dialogue of
truth.
• We must remember that the differences between people are less important
than the unity.
4. The Dialogue of Religious Experience
• In several parts of Canada, people from different religious traditions come
together to speak with each other about their spirituality.
• Catholics may explain to others about prayer life and meditation.
• They may talk about their beliefs and how they search for God.
• This type of spiritual dialogue can lead to a deep appreciation of what moves
members of other religions, and a deeper appreciation of our own faith.
Journal #1
Dialectic Journal
• "What are eight important things you
have learned about the nature of and
need for interfaith dialogue from this
chapter study?"
• What questions do you have about
interreligious dialogue?