Rituals in Interreligious Dialogue

Book excerpt: Rituals are back on stage today. Until recently, they were regarded as an obsolete and even incomprehensible part of religions, relegated to the background while ethics and spirituality attracted more focus. However, the realisation is growing that rituals represent the treasure of religious memory. They connect the human being to the past and to the community that surrounds her or him. However, what happens to rituals when different religions meet? This book shows that a great deal can be learned by taking rituals seriously. This holds good for the rich treasure of rituals within religions such as Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. Only by recognizing these treasures can new possibilities for rituals in interreligious encounters be explored.