Christian self-understanding amid many religions

Relations with people of other faiths impact Christian self-understanding, mission and witness as well as Christians' understanding of other religions.

This project invites the WCC constituency to consider how inter-religious dialogue challenges theology and Christian self-understanding.

It compares findings in Jewish-Christian dialogue with how Christian theology understands the nature and purpose of the church and, through consultations and the Internet, tries to create space for these findings in Christian theology.

In dialogue with people of different faiths, it considers understandings of conversion with a view to producing a code of conduct on religious conversions.

And it studies Christian self-understanding in a religiously plural world.

The project works with the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, the International Council of Christians and Jews, the Bernardin Center at the Catholic Theological Union (USA), the Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding at the Muhlenberg College (USA), and the Centre for Christian-Jewish Understanding (UK), among other speciliazed institutions, as well as with the WCC Faith and Order Commission, the Roman-Catholic Church, the WCC constituency and Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians.

Related events

07.07.08 - 31.07.08
Building an interfaith community

Bossey, Switzerland

"How can we affirm our identity as Muslims, Jews and Christians not in separation or against each other but in relation to one another?" This is the question 25 young adults from different European,...

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All events on this topic


The question of the theological approach to religious plurality had been on the agenda of the WCC many times; in recent years, it was felt that this difficult and controversial issue needed to be revisited. This document was shared as a background document for discussion and debate at the WCC's 9th assembly in 2006.
Address by the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to a plenary on Christian identity and religious plurality at the WCC's 9th assembly in 2006.

 
Related publications

Peoples of God - A Jewish-Christian Conversation in Asia

Hans Ucko - The Jewish and Asian Christian theological perspectives developed in the essays collected here show that these two faith groups have much to learn from each other, and to teach us all, about the experience of being a minority, the meaning of the image of God, the concept of identity as a people of God and the challenge of religious pluralism.

 
Related activities
Code of conduct on conversion
Approaches to the conflictual issue of conversion and changes of affiliation in a religiously plural world