While religions are often thought of as distinct, univocal, even competing traditions, the phenomenon of multiple religious belonging is widespread, both historically and today. In a variety of traditions and regions, the reality of religious hybridity— whether because of cultural inheritance, family circumstances, or explicit choice—raises issues about traditional categories in theology and the study of religion: How is such a widely varied and elusive reality to be understood, and what does it mean for Christian identity, Christian theology, and pastoral practice? Can modes of multiple religious belonging be embraced not as problems to be solved, but as proliferating sites of divine encounter? Can multiple religious belonging be considered an authentic expression of faith in creative fidelity to the gospel of Christ?
Discussants: • Peniel Jesudason Rufus Rajkumar (World Council of Churches) • Joaquim Fernandez Angelats (ISCREB) - Can a Christian feel deeply Christian and at the same time feel that he also belongs to another religion or spiritual current? The Double Religious Belonging (DRB)
Respondent: • Stephen Brown (Ecumenical Review, World Council of Churches)
