I grew up within Christianity—one of the faiths that many religious scholars label as a Western tradition. It can be difficult at times to wrap my head around religious concepts and symbols labeled by those same religious scholars as Eastern traditions. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam come under the rubric of Western traditions while Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism are categorized as Eastern traditions.
Years ago I came across Diana Eck’s book, Encountering God A Spiritual Journey from Bozeman to Banaras. In the Preface, Eck writes: “I am a student, scholar, and teacher of the comparative study of religion. My academic specialization is the Hindu tradition….” Throughout her work, she explores the meaning of “God.” “What if,” she asks, “the names and forms of…God are many, limited only by our human capacity to recognize them?” Continue reading “Giving Up What You Do Not Have by Esther Nelson”
Recently (September 2016), the Bishop Walter F. Sullivan Catholic Studies Symposium took place in the university where I teach. The main speaker (a Roman Catholic priest) addressed the topic, “How Pope Francis is Creating a Culture of Encounter.” There were three other participants. One delivered “A Protestant Perspective;” another “A Jewish Perspective;” and the third “A Muslim Perspective.” All of them, including the moderator (chair of the Catholic Studies program), are white men.
Feminism and Religion 