Interfaith Dialogue at the Grass Roots (review)

The authors of the essays contained in Interfaith Dialogue at the Grass Roots share their concrete experiences of dialogue at the grassroots. Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scholars and practitioners of inter-religious dialogue successfully demonstrate how “interreligious dialogue [can] move from the halls of academia to the grassroots where we contend it needs to be in the twenty-first century” (97). In so doing, they offer possibilities and examples for those interested in taking on the work of dialogue and encouragement for those already engaged in this work. The authors implicitly make a methodological claim that the work of such dialogue is above all the actual practice of dialogue, which precedes discourse about it.

Three underlying presuppositions unite the essays. The first is the belief that “a reconciling and unconditionally loving God [is] at the heart of our encounter with ‘the other”’ (2). The second is an operative definition of dialogue captured best by L. Swidler’s definition of dialogue as “a conversation on a common subject between two or more persons with differing views, the primary purpose of which is for each participant to learn from the other so that s/he can change and grow” (2). The last unifying presupposition is that all authors believe that inter-religious dialogue is an urgent and hope-filled necessity in the post-9/11 world. These themes are most explicitly addressed in Swidler’s anchoring essay but expanded upon and developed in the subsequent essays.

In the first essay, theologian and religious sister M.T. Winter relates the fruits of her thirty-year relationship with a Jewish-Israeli woman that has enabled both women to “bring the fullness of our diversity into a variety of conversation circles” (25). The next essay highlights the methodological importance of narrative in dialogue using the example of the Interfaith Youth Core’s Chicago Youth Council. In their experience, storytelling not only increased dialogue participants’ understanding of one another’s religious traditions but “strengthened their sense of belonging, inheritance, and identity within their own respective traditions” (36). S.M. Heim and E. Howe’s contribution describes a complement to formal dialogues they call “unprogrammed learning” (47). This type of interfaith leaning is typified in the experience of the Daughters of Abraham book discussion group. Included at the end of this chapter is a handy bibliography of the numerous books read by the group.

Two of the essays treat Jewish-Christian dialogue and reconciliation specifically. M. Kogan’s essay examines a series of adult formation programs offered by Christian Scripture scholars in synagogue-based programs. In another, writing from a Jewish perspective, R. Weiman witnesses to the “repentance, transformation, and change” evidenced by her Christian colleagues in thinking through the issue of faith after the Shoah alongside Jewish scholars. A provocative essay by K. Mohammed claims that removing barriers, presuppositions, prejudices, stereotypes, and cultural gaps is the result of the uncomfortable work of confronting them head on. In his view, the difficult work of dialogue “must be truly learned in the academic sense and must also identify with the faith expression” (84).

The authors of this volume honestly confront the many challenges that the concrete dialogues they examine pose and offer wise ways of navigating the complexities of identity, power, politics, and culture. Their essays make it clear that while the work of dialogue is the responsibility of religious leaders and theologians, it must also be cultivated among all religious believers of the Abrahamic faiths at the grassroots. Each chapter contains a theological reflection upon a concrete, grassroots dialogue experience. The models and activities proposed by the authors seem “doable” and repeatable, making this book an invaluable resource for individuals and groups interested in beginning or developing inter-religious dialogues and conversations at a local level.