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An incisive and original collection of the most engaging issues in contemporary comparative theology
In The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Comparative Theology, a team of distinguished scholars delivers a one-of-a-kind collection of essays on comparative theology. Honoring the groundbreaking work of Francis X. Clooney, S.J.--whose contributions to theology and religion will endure for generations--the included works explore seven key subjects in comparative theology, including its theory, method, history, influential contemporary developments, and potentially fruitful avenues for future discussion.
The editors provide essays that reflect on the critical, theoretical, and methodological aspects of comparative theology, as well as constructive and critical appraisals of Francis Clooney's scholarship. Over forty original contributions from internationally recognized scholars and insightful newcomers to the field are included within. Readers will also find:
* Insightful discussions of the larger implications of comparative theology beyond the discipline itself, especially as it relates to educational programs, institutions, and post-carceral life
* Robust promotion of the research methods and critical thinking present in Francis Clooney's work
* Practical discussions of the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing theological researchers today
* Papers from leading contributors located around the globe, including emerging voices from the global south
Perfect for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of theology and religious studies, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Comparative Theology will also benefit scholars with an interest in comparative religion, interreligious studies, and interreligious theology.
List of contents
List of Contributors ix
Preface xiv
John B. Carman and William A. Graham
Acknowledgments xvi
Introduction xvii
Axel M. Oaks Takacs and Joseph L. Kimmel
Part I Theories and Methods in Comparative Theology 1
1 Five Insights on Method from Comparative Theology 3
Jason W. Smith
2 Imagining Religion, Intuiting Comparison: Comparing the Roles of Inner Sense in the Scholarship of Jonathan Z. Smith and Francis X. Clooney, SJ 13
Joseph L. Kimmel
3 Resisting Religious Relativism in Comparative Theology 21
Catherine Cornille
4 Grounding Theology of Religions in Comparative Theology: A Fulfillment Model in Reverse 32
Ruben L.F. Habito
5 Beyond the Text: Comparative Theology and Oral Cultures 43
Nougoutna Norbert Litoing
6 Faith Seeking Understanding or Understanding Seeking Faith? 51
Bennett DiDente Comerford
7 Kinesics, Proxemics, and Haptics: A Sakta Method for Comparative Theology 63
Pravina Rodrigues
Part II The Spirituality, Vocation, and Formation of the Comparative Theologian 77
8 "The One Who Prays Is a (Comparative) Theologian": The Spirituality of Francis X. Clooney's Comparative Method 79
Christopher Conway
9 Settling the Seer: "Deep Learning" and the Yoga of Slowness 89
Michelle Bentsman
10 Comparative Theology Embodied: The Mentorship, Methodology, and Ministry of Francis X. Clooney 95
Katie Mahowski Mylroie
11 Performance and Engagement: Reconsidering Religious Experience in Contemporary Comparative Theology 104
Reid B. Locklin
12 A Fowlerian Perspective on the Faith of the Comparativist 115
Erik Ranstrom
13 Comparative Theology as Process Not Conclusion: Francis Clooney on the Proper Formation of Comparative Theological Readers 129
John J. Thatamanil
Part III Comparative Theology and the Society of Jesus 139
14 Comparing Jesuits: Roberto de Nobili, Henri de Lubac, and Francis X. Clooney 141
James Fredericks
15 Francis X. Clooney, SJ: Jesuit, Scholar, Missionary 151
Christian S. Krokus
16 The Ignatian Tradition and the Intellectual Virtues of a Comparative Theologian 162
Peng Yin
17 Wonder Grasps Anything: Punctuation and Patristic Theology in the Early Colonial Philippines 173
Maria Cecilia Holt
Part IV E xpanding on Francis X. Clooney's Corpus 185
18 The Interpretation of Scripture in the Comparative Theology of Francis X. Clooney 187
Leo D. Lefebure
19 "Good Dark Love Birds, Will You Help?": Comparative Reflections on Clooney's His Hiding Place Is Darkness 198
Kimberley C. Patton
20 "Paradoxology": The Srivaisnava Art of Praising Visnu 209
Vasudha Narayanan
21 Hymns on Mary in Hindu--Muslim--Christian Dialogue 225
Klaus von Stosch
22 Mary and Motherhood -- A Comparatively Informed Reconsideration 235
Mara Brecht
Part V E xercises in Comparative Theology 247
23 Transformational Liberation in the Age of COVID-19: A Comparative Theology of "the Good Woman" 249
Tracy Sayuki Tiemeier
24 And the Angels Wept: How Jewish and Hindu Narratives May Enrich Each Other 260
Arvind Sharma
25 Modification, Emanation, and Parinama-Vada in Medieval Theistic Vedanta and Kabbalah 268
Ithamar Theodor
26 Advancing the Ritual-Liturgical Turn in Comparative Theology: Good Friday as a Case Study 280
Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski
27 Creative Fidelity in Expanding the Canon 291
Scott Steinkerchner, OP and Martin Badenhorst, OP
28 Slow Reading of Beautiful Writing: Calligraphy as Vehicle for Comparative Theology 302
Lucinda Mosher
29 Joy in the Earth: A Christian Cosmology Based on Agapic Nond
About the author
Axel M. Oaks Takacs is Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Molloy University and the Editor-in-Chief of the
Journal of Interreligious Studies. He is a comparative theologian and scholar of Islamic Studies and interreligious studies, with an established record of published articles and entries in edited volumes such as the
Georgetown Companion to Interreligious Studies, the
Brill Companion to Comparative Theology, and Fordham's
How To Do Comparative Theology.
Joseph L. Kimmel recently completed his PhD in the Study of Religion at Harvard. He teaches part-time at Boston College and serves as an Episcopal priest. In addition to a forthcoming article in the
Journal of the American Academy of Religion, he has been published in journals including
Biblical Interpretation, the
Journal of Interreligious Studies, the
International Journal of Culture and Mental Health, and the
Graduate Journal of Harvard Divinity School.
