Comparative Theology as a Postcolonial Hermeneutics: A Global Historical Approach to the Encounter between Augustinian Christianity and Tiantai Buddhism

Comparative theology aims at seeing one's own tradition and the other in light of each other, which calls for a solid methodological foundation. Comparative theology can benefit from a global historical approach that involves the hermeneutic project of tracing historical trajectories of reinterpreting ancient traditions comparatively and the postcolonial project of enhancing non-Western voices of self-articulation. This essay shows how modern reinterpretations of Augustinian Christianity and Tiantai Buddhism can reframe their ancient doctrines, drawing on relevant philosophical strands from Martin Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, Teruji Ishizu (石津 照璽), and Keiji Nishitani (西谷 啓治).