 In today's world the various concepts relating to interfaith and interreligious issues are often used interchangeably, and are employed to address similar ideas and practices. All of these terms--many of which are defined below--emphasize a self-conscious commitment to four areas: a) importance of personal faith experience as a foundation for authentic dialogue; b) communal discernment of truth as a necessary element in clarifying the claims of one's own tradition; c) recognition that an interreligious vision cannot be achieved at the expense of historically marginalized groups of people; and d) the need to apply this shared wisdom to pressing historical circumstances. To clarify something of their historical usage, the following definitions are given. Interreligious Dialogue: Term used to convey the exchange of ideas, practices, beliefs, and cooperative work for social justice among representatives of the world's religions. Leonard Swidler contends that dialogue takes place on the cognitive, practical, and spiritual levels and encourages the respectful listening and sharing that leads to: unlearning misinformation and learning who we are; appropriating other traditions into our own; and exploring new areas of reality, meaning and truth neither partners in dialogue have been aware of before. [ See additional information at http://astro.temple.edu/~dialogue/Swidler/swidvit.html ] Ecumenical Dialogue: Ecumenical is an adjective meaning "universal," derived from the Greek word oikoumene, "the inhabited world" or "the whole world." However, in practical usage the term "ecumenical" refers to the dialogue between and among Christian denominations. What, then, is the purpose of interreligious cooperation? It is neither to flatter nor to refute one another, but to help one another; to share insight and learning,. . . to search in the wilderness for well-springs of devotion, for treasures of stillness, for the power of love . . . What is urgently needed is the courage to . . . cooperate in trying to bring about a resurrection of sensitivity, a revival of conscience; to keep alive the divine sparks in our souls, to nurture openness to the spirit of the Psalms, reverence for the words of the prophets, and faithfulness to the Living God. ~ Abraham Joshua Heschel | Intrareligious Dialogue: Developed by Raimon Panikkar to express that dialogue among traditions and the challenges of understanding a different religious worldview take place not only between traditions, but first and foremost within oneself. [ See additional information at http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2015 ] Interfaith Dialogue: Term used interchangeably with Interreligious Dialogue, but tends to emphasize the sharing of the specific faith dimensions, inner motivations, spiritual practices, ritual expressions, and personal religious experiences across traditions. It also highlights the search for a common basis of spiritual experience and faith among all people. Intermonastic Dialogue: Discussion among monastic representatives of various traditions - for example, Christian and Buddhist monks - that is specifically concerned with the dialogue of spiritual experience and spiritual practice. It emphasizes that the journey of dialogue is itself a spiritual path that naturally evolves into a profound discussion of the interior dimensions of the spiritual life and its implications for humankind. [ See Monastic Interreligious Dialogue website http://monasticdialog.com/mid.php?id=14 ] Interspirituality: A term coined by Wayne Teasdale to express the assimilation of insights, values, and spiritual practices from the various religions and their application to one's own inner life and development. Further, the prefix inter in "interspirituality" expresses the ontological roots that tie the various traditions together and the essential interdependence of the religions.[ See additional information at http://www.spiritualityhealth.com/newsh/items/blank/item_9075.html ] Intercontemplative: A term Beverly employs that builds on all of the above definitions and is used interchangeably with "interfaith" in our documents. Highlights that the mature depth of the inner life is not confined to those who practice a formal monasticism or mysticism. Rather, monastic/contemplative consciousness and the capacity to dwell in silence is intrinsic to being human, allowing us to think of the monk or the contemplative as a universal archetype present in all people. Monastery and Monastic: These terms are used in our documents to express an inner dimension of silence and solitude where we come to rest in our divine source. They convey the idea that we contain within us a holy hermitage, a point of openness, and a place of intimacy that belong to the divine and cannot be co-opted or trampled by the world. Schola Divina, in using these concepts, seeks to convey in every respect the intrinsic and holy unity of life that we strive to discover and experience in our own spiritual lives and practices. |
Philosophy 
