Religion in Dialogue with Late Modern Society: A Constructive Contribution to a Christian Spirituality Informed by Buddhist-Christian Encounters

In this dissertation I make a constructive contribution to a Christian spirituality for late modern religiously plural society. The words ‘a constructive contribution’ designate the methodological approach of the study. The words ‘late modern religiously plural society’ include the combination of social, political, cultural and economic factors in relation to which the question of spirituality will be discussed, and a contribution to a Christian spirituality will be constructed.

Based on a description of contemporary religion, in which I refer to modern sociologists (some general and some specifically involved with religion), I outline certain recent characteristics of our contemporary way of relating to religion, and formulate a spirituality for late modern religiously plural society. I see such spirituality arising within three dynamic fields: ‘continuity and internal diversity’, ‘formal and informal structures’ and ‘vita activa and vita contemplativa’.

Against this background I present and analyse a case study of Aloysius Pieris, a Christian theologian active in ‘Buddhist’ Sri Lanka and of Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk active in ‘Christian’ France. Based on identified presuppositions and in dialogue with these two personalities I proceede toward a construction which contains some basic indicators of a Christian spirituality for late modern religiously plural society. The concepts ‘community’, ‘baptism’ and ‘grace and concern’ are central to the construction.