Ritual Participation and Interreligious Dialogue: Boundaries, Transgressions and Innovations

Shared ritual practices, multi-faith celebrations, and interreligious prayers are becoming increasingly common in the USA and Europe as more people experience religious diversity first hand. While ritual participation can be seen as a powerful expression of interreligious solidarity, it also carries with it challenges of a particularly sensitive nature. Though celebrating and worshiping together can enhance interreligious relations, cross-riting may also lead some believers to question whether it is appropriate to engage in the rituals of another faith community. Some believers may consider cross-ritual participation as inappropriate transgressive behaviour.

Bringing together leading international contributors and voices from a number of religious traditions, Ritual Participation and Interreligious Dialogue delves into the complexities and intricacies of the phenomenon. They ask: what are the promises and perils of celebrating and praying together? What are the limits of ritual participation? How can we make sense of feelings of discomfort when entering the sacred space of another faith community? The first book to focus on the lived dimensions of interreligious dialogue through ritual participation rather than textual or doctrinal issues, this innovative volume opens an entirely new perspective.