Fostering Interreligious Encounters in Pluralist Societies

This book calls attention to ways of fostering dialogue among members of different religious traditions in an era of cultural and religious pluralism. To achieve this, the author analyzes the results of an ethnographic study of Ihievbe, a town in Midwestern Nigeria that is religiously pluralistic. Emphasis is given to hospitality and friendship—two key relational, cultural, philosophical, and theological virtues—as tools for constructing healthy interreligious dialogue that is relevant for our times. A critical study is done on the importance of these two dialogical virtues in the religious expressions of Roman Catholicism, Islam, and Ihievbe Traditional Religion. Preference for ethnographic studies is based on stressing the relevance of context in articulating useful practices of interreligious dialogue. Finally, the book articulates ways the fruits of interreligious dialogue can be celebrated in the liturgical rituals of each religion, especially the three religions that are addressed here.