Interreligious Studies

Abstract

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  Profile of the study programme

  It is at the crossroads of ethics, spirituality and interreligious dialogue that religious convictions become practical commitments. Thus, within a religious tradition, ethics does not derive purely from premises based on norms. We understand spirituality on the one hand as traditional religious reflection on personal experience, and on the other as the spiritual dimension of institutionalised religions. Since the beginning of the 20^th century spirituality has played an increasingly important role in the way religions and peoples understand themselves. Ethics ceases to be understood as the enforcement of rules established by a given religious tradition. Rather, the direction of each action is increasingly determined — both by society and within self-defined spiritual communities — through prior negotiations among all members. In this context, individual consent and the balancing of interests are vital.

  For these reasons, the 20^th century marked a change in the relationship between spirituality and ethics. The relationship is no longer understood as one in which ethics could take the place of spirituality and vice versa. Moreover, this poses new challenges for interreligious dialogue, which is no longer simply perceived as a simple comparative exchange of predetermined positions. Today, interreligious dialogue is characterised not only by the normative texts of each tradition, but also — and especially — by the communication of personal experience. Consequently, historical agreements and differences no longer function as they did in the past. In the light of personal experiences, some differences between religious experience may diminish; at the same time, new conflicts often arise.

  The field described here by the intersection of ethics, spirituality and interreligious dialogue is the focus of this programme of study. This approach opens new avenues to understanding the increasing abundance of religious landscapes not only as a consequence of structural transformations but also as the result of a broadening field of spirituality.

  In this context, the course aims to transmit both knowledge considered in an existential context and the tools for dealing with fundamental problems relating to interreligious dialogue. The course's main aim is to communicate knowledge for analysing religions and their theologies as key factors in the construction of contemporary sociabilities. While all existing religions will be studied in this course, significant emphasis will be placed on Christianity, Judaism and Islam alongside major Asian religions.

  This programme of study is thus conceived as a network connecting Faculties, while being integrated mainly within the Faculty of Theology. The course is deliberately interdisciplinary and open to students from any discipline as a minor programme. The Swiss Centre for Islam and Society (CSIS) accordingly plays an important role in the programme.

  Career prospects
  The programme offers career prospects for the following target groups, among others:
  – Theologians seeking to specialise in political studies of religions so as to work within or outside the Church;
  – Experts and interreligious/intercultural mediators needing to acquire new knowledge about religions and their impact on social life (managing communities, working in the media/culture, adult training, national or international trade, NGOs etc.);
  – Teachers in state-run secondary schools may offer their pupils one module of this study course.

Studies organisation

Structure of studies

Curriculum

Admission

Alternatives

Minor study programmes to be chosen