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This book aims to explore the reality of dual religious belonging and to promote a better understanding of this concept. With this purpose in mind, the author examines changes in the global religious landscape in recent decades and analyses the theory of dual (or multiple) belonging, as well as discussing dual religious 'belongers' such as Henri Le Saux, Jules Monchanin, Bede Griffiths and Raimundo Panikkar. The book also explores the critical elements of a theology of dual belonging by examining the sense of 'self'; the Buddhist idea of 'no-self'; religious identity; the symbol as a means of divine communication; the notion of truth; and the concept of how God speaks through different religions. Finally, the author considers the crucial idea of 'conversion' or 'transformation'.
List of contents
Contents: The meaning of dual religious belonging - The difficulty of knowing «self» - The Buddhist idea of «no-self» - The complexity of religious identity - Divine communication - Truth and other religions - Conversion or transformation?
About the author
Gideon Goosen holds doctorates in philosophy and theology and lives in the Blue Mountains, near Sydney, Australia. He is the author of many books and articles and has taught theology for over thirty-five years at the Australian Catholic University and at other institutions. He is chair of the Theological Reflections Commission of the New South Wales Ecumenical Council.
Report
«'Hyphenated Christians' is a very fine, solid and complex theological investigation of the phenomenon of multiple belonging.» (Professor Francis X. Clooney, S.J., Harvard University)
«In a global village in which different cultures and religious traditions encounter and often mix with each other, there is a woeful lack of solid works which explain and reflect on the growing phenomenon of multiple religious belonging. Gideon Goosen's study fills that gap wonderfully and is an important contribution to an increasingly important field of study.» (Dr Julius-Kei Kato, University of Western Ontario)
«'Hyphenated Christians' treats an important and growing phenomenon in an enlightening and engaging manner.» (Professor Linda Hogan, Trinity College Dublin)
«(...) this book addresses not just an intellectual issue but a real human and pastoral situation. It deserves a wide readership.» (Douglas Pratt, Colloquium 44, 2012/2)
