Interfaith Dialogue in Plural Societies

New Straits Times

09 September 2016

Paul Hedges

INTERRELIGIOUS dialogue is increasingly discussed as a tool not just for understanding between religions, but also as a way to improve community cohesion and increase societal resilience.

While there is evidence that it can be of benefit, there are caveats in implementing it. Despite these concerns it seems an increasing necessity, both in the increasingly multifaith context of the West and in traditionally multifaith societies in Southeast Asia.

Given that a recent PEW Forum report named Singapore as the world’s most religiously diverse country, the need for interreligious dialogue should be clear. There are, however, issues that can be seen as barriers to developing interreligious dialogue. The key ones include levels of religious literacy; a fear and reluctance around dialogue amongst religious groups; and logistics.

… The writer is associate professor in Interreligious Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

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