The Faculty of Theology and Philosophy at Australian Catholic University (ACU) is delighted to announce details of our International Conference on Comparative Theology. Framed by the concept of religious identities, the 2019 conference invites participants to explore the latest developments within, and challenges to, comparative theology and associated practices of interreligious learning. The Conference will take place at the Australian Catholic University, Melbourne Campus, 23-24 July, 2019.
Framed by the concept of religious identities, join us to explore the latest developments within, and challenges to, comparative theology and associated practices of interreligious learning
Download the conference poster (PDF 1.73MB)
Download the conference flyer (PDF 729KB)
About the conference
Professor Francis X Clooney, the leading authority on comparative theology, has described the discipline as deep learning across religious borders. It “marks acts of faith seeking understanding, which are rooted in a particular faith tradition but which, from that foundation, venture into learning from other faith traditions”.
Professor Clooney’s articulation of the central premise and core activity of comparative theology provides an important corrective to the dominant ethos of our times: one marked by a binary opposition of ‘us against them’.
Rather than fuelling modern-day identity politics, comparative theology provides a means of transcending boundaries and occupying hybrid spaces of religious encounter and dialogue. Some may see such an encounter with difference as transgressive, but comparative theology maintains that it is precisely in learning with and from the other that one’s own identity is enriched.
Keynote speakers
- Professor Francis X Clooney SJ, Harvard University, Parkman Professor of Divinity and Professor of Comparative Theology
- Professor Catherine Cornille, Boston College, Newton College Alumnae Chair of Western Culture and Professor of Comparative Theology
- Professor Marianne Moyaert, VU Amsterdam, Professor of Comparative Theology and Hermeneutics of Interreligious Dialogue
- Reverend Dr Diego Sarrió Cucarella, Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI), Rector and Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies and editor of the PISAI journal Islamochristiana
- Dr Emmanuel Nathan, Australian Catholic University, Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies and Comparative Theology
- Dr Makoto Sawai, Kyoto University, Japan, has a research focus largely on mystical Islam
- Fr Yesudasan Remias, KU Leuven, studies the Hebrew Bible alongside the majority Hindu traditions of his native India
In addition, a number of conference participants will present papers.
Registration:
The registration fee includes the two-day conference, coffee breaks and lunches. General: A$300 Unwaged and non-ACU students: A$150 ACU staff and students: free to attend. Please note, online registration is essential.
Tuesday 23 – Wednesday 24 July 2019
Australian Catholic University, Melbourne Campus
115 Victoria Parade, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia
