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Our late modern era is marked by the rapidity of change; waxing pluralism; focus on the future, not the past; the elevation of personal choice over communal obligation; and, for some, a sense of spiritual and intellectual disorientation that can lead to resentment, fear, nostalgia, and/or a disordered desire for absolute certainty and rigid authority. How can religious traditions be maintained and even thrive in such an environment? How do they negotiate the fluidity of it all and transmit their beliefs and practices to future generations? What should be the role of academic authorities vis-a-vis religious authorities in this process? Finally, what can different religious traditions learn from one another on the general topic of tradition? This volume invites readers to participate in a candid ecumenical and interreligious conversation involving Christian, Jewish, and Muslim voices. The editor and contributors alike contend that the "Abrahamic" faiths, while having honest differences, face common challenges from contemporary culture, which often fosters incomprehension about the depth, breadth, and intellectual rigor of religious traditions. At the same time, traditions can become disengaged and moribund without attending to them with careful reflection, discernment, and conversation with others who hold different points of view.
About the author
Thomas Albert Howard Howard is Professor of Humanities and History and holds the Duesenberg Chair in Christian Ethics at Valparaiso University, where he is affiliated with Christ College, Valparaiso's humanities-based honors college. He also serves as Senior Fellow for the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts. His publications include The Pope and the Professor: Pius IX, Ignaz von Dollinger, and the Quandary of the Modern Age and The Faiths of Others: Modern History and the Rise of Interreligious Dialogue.
