Interreligious Dialogue: An Exchange of Religious Experiences

An interview with Ramon Pannikar on interreligious dialogue that originally appeared in the August 16-23, 2000 issue The Christian Century is now available at religion-online

An example of what you will find:

You believe in interreligious dialogue. On what conditions can it succeed?

The days are over when religions could take refuge in splendid isolation. In Europe, for example, religious people can no longer ignore the existence of the millions of foreigners with different cultures who are now living there. They can no longer ignore the fact that, across three quarters of our planet, the dominant religion is not Christianity. Hence there must be dialogue; the question is, what kind?

As long as I do not open my heart and do not see that the other is not an other but a part of myself who enlarges and completes me, I will not arrive at dialogue. If I embrace you, then I understand you. All this is a way of saying that real intrareligious dialogue begins in myself, and that it is more an exchange of religious experiences than of doctrines. If one does not start out from this foundation, no religious dialogue is possible; it is just idle chatter.

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