Interreligious Resilience

Book excerpt: This book introduces the theory of interreligious resilience as a means to developing deeper and more effective interreligious engagement and resilience. Michael S. Hogue and Dean Phillip Bell advocate for interreligious resilience as the ability to grow through encounters with religious difference. They argue that rather than the capacity to endure change and return to a normal status quo, a deeper, more complex resilience is characterized by an ability to learn through disturbances, disruptions, and uncertainty. This book integrates theory and practice by situating the practical tasks of interreligious engagement in theological and social contexts. It is systemic and multidimensional, rather than staying focused on isolated interreligious issues or interpersonal interreligious encounters. This book is essential reading for all religious leaders and other community leaders working with religious people in an interreligious world.