Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Considering Inter-Religious Dialogue Online

Over the past decade there has been continued debate as to whether the internet simply encourages communities of consensus or can be used to bridge communication gaps and encourage diverse and heterogenous relations.  The Huffington Post engaged these issues recently  in an article entitled Cyber Dialogue: The Future of Interreligious Engagement. In it the author stress how social networking sites help to religious communities communicate their messages internally and externally and asks to what extend can/do online forums encourage inter-religious dialogue. He sites successful examples such as Patheos.  Othe notable examples could be Children of Abraham  or Beliefnet.

Related to this a call has been issues for nominations and self-nominations for Contributing Scholars for a new blog, called State of Formation. The blog is sponsored by Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue, in partnership with the Parliament of the World's Religions and seeks to engage religious and philosophical thinker on questions related to life in a religiously pluralistic society. The call goes out to young scholars and/or religious leaders  who are currently learning about and reflecting on religious and moral issues who see a unique opportunity for public dialogue and mentoring on issues related to inter-religious discourse. The program also offers travel grants. Apply here.

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