Religious Diversity and the American Experience: A Theological Approach

Description

This book surveys the 8 basic approaches to religious pluralism, ranging from exclusivism (evangelical right) through classic inclusivism (Rahner), revised inclusivism (DuPuis), particularism (Paul Griffith), radical diversity (S. Mark Heim), pluralism (Knitter), comparative theologies (Frank Clooney), and dual belonging (Raimundo Panikkar). The unique contribution of this book is the ability to situate the issue of pluralism in the cultural site in the US (here relying on "thick" cultural analyses of Robert Wuthnow, Vincent Miller, and others) and in the religious site of Roman Catholicism (as offering mainstream Christian responses to religious diversity).

Terrence W. Tilley is professor and department chair, Department of Theology, Fordham University. Prior to that he was professor and department chair, Department of Religious Studies, University of Dayton, and before that he taught at Florida State University. He is the author of 5 previous books: Story Theology (Liturgical Press, 1985) and the rest published by Orbis Books: The Evils of Theodicies (1991), Postmodern Theologies and the Challenge of Religious Diversity (1995), Inventing the Catholic Tradition (2000), and History, Theology, and Faith: Dissolving the Modern Problematic (2004). Story Theology was named book of the year (1986) by the College Theology Society. Inventing Catholic Tradition took First Place in Theology from the Catholic Press Association. He is a member of the Catholic Theological Society of America and the College Theology Society. His wife, Maureen Tilley, is a patristics scholar who also teaches at Fordham. They have 2 grown daughters.

"That the authors achieve their rather ambitious objectives overall in an accessible, cogent manner is admirable, especially given both the scope of their project and its multiple authorship...Religious Diversity and the American Experience is recommended as a timely foundational text in undergraduate theology courses that focus on, for example, theology and society, religion in America, theological anthropology, cultural analyses of religious experience, and the church in the modern world." - Scott D. Geis, American Catholic Studies, Summer 2008 -- Scott D. Geis "The resolutely local and practical orientation of the volume, as well as its effective and accessible survey, commend it for a broad readership...neither the facts of religious diversity nor the specific texture of the American situation lend themselves to straightforward, coherent assessments. So Tilley and his students offer a more authentic response: a complex, even messy conversation, beginning in their 2006 seminar, culminating in this 2007 book, and intended to continue in other U.S. classrooms. Were I teaching in the U.S., I would seriously consider using this text to facilitate precisely such messy conversations." -Reid B. Locklin, Catholic Books Review, 2009 "Excellent range of discussion ... much can be learnt from it."Theology, 1st July 2010 "This book is an extremely helpful guide through the thickets of one of the most controverted areas in theology today: the meaning of Christ in the face of other religious traditions. It judiciously weighs the pros and cons of the major positions on the topic. That it situates its responses so lucidly within the U.S. context makes it doubly valuable." - Robert Schreiter, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago -- Robert Schreiter * Blurb from reviewer *