Dialogue and Diplomacy: A Study of the Vatican's and World Council of Churches' Involvement in Hindu-Christian Relations

• Applicant: Dr. Melanie Barbato
• Subject Area: Religious Studies and Jewish Studies
• Term: from 2018 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 411280951

Drawing on examples from Hindu-Christian dialogue, this project asks how two major religious organizations negotiate the challenge of bridging religious and political elements in their official communication. 'Dialogue and Diplomacy' will produce a discourse analysis of the involvement of the Vatican and the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Hindu-Christian dialogue, including a mixed-method content analysis of the official Catholic and ecumenical documents that refer to Hindu-Christian relations.In the context of globalization, migration, and resurgent violent fundamentalism, high-level interreligious dialogue is increasingly recognized as an important activity of public discourse and global governance. Research on the mechanisms of high-level relations are, however, still rare, as are theoretical attempts to conceptualise this form of communication. Drawing on the insights of Luhmann, Bourdieu and others but taking the postcolonial criticism of the religion/politics divide seriously, 'Dialogue and Diplomacy' will provide an in-depth analysis of how high-level dialogue negotiates the plurality of interests between theological dialogue and public diplomacy. Dialogue and Diplomacy will produce a discourse analysis, including a software-supported textual analysis, of the official relations of two major high-level actors of the world's largest religion (Christianity), with the adherents of the world's third largest religion (Hinduism). The case studies will examine two very different actors of high-level Hindu-Christian dialogue: the Vatican with its hierarchical structure and the World Council of Churches (WCC) with the internal plurality of one of the world's largest ecumenical organizations. Dialogue and Diplomacy will examine both the religious and political elements that high-level Hindu-Christian dialogue draws on for developing a common language of interreligious interaction and activism. The dialogue between Christians and Hindus has been chosen because these two traditions are historically intertwined, particularly through the colonial experience, but also very different from each other so that suitable structures and a common language have to be actively sought. By examining the official documents of Vatican and WCC in their dialogue with Hindus, 'Dialogue and Diplomacy' seeks to gain a better understanding of the genre 'high-level interreligious dialogue document' and its uses, strengths and limitations in Hindu-Christian relations. The project asks how in cases of strong social and religious diversity, also within the respective communities, substantive interreligious dialogue can be facilitated and organized in an institutional framework. The research output seeks to serve both the academic community and the actors engaged in high-level dialogue.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants