Encounters

Book excerpt: The 21st century is a new era for interfaith dialogue. Leaders of many of the world's faiths have begun, often for the first time, to sit down together and consider the possibilities for cooperation and dialogue between the practitioners of their religions. While in the past such encounters might have been stiff affairs contrived to generate a politically expedient photo-op, what is remarkable today is the depth of relationships being formed across historically deep divides. Acclaimed artist Nicola Green has had a front row seat to many of these encounters, spending years accompanying former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams in meetings with religious leaders across the world. In her wide-ranging project Only through Others, Green presents photographs and paintings inspired by Dr. Williams' intimate conversations with figures including Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the Dalai Lama, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, and former British Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. Green's works-resulting from unprecedented access yielding thousands of photographs, drawings, and pages of notes-provide a dynamic lens for the authors in this book to analyze what makes for productive and lasting interfaith dialogue. By paying attention to neglected factors in such encounters, from the set up of physical spaces to bodily gestures and even the clothing of participants, this book provides a truly embodied perspective on interfaith dialogue. It refuses to see theology in a vacuum, placing faith fully within the context of visual, material, and sensory culture.