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Interfaith Engagement Interfaith issues increasingly challenge the mission of the church, globally and locally. Religion plays a role in many deep-rooted prejudices and conflicts, but can also serve to overcome destructive tensions and shape inter-religions commitment to act for the common good. The LWF is studying and reflecting theologically on interfaith issues and engaging in dialogue not only at the academic but at the community level. After many years of dialogue, the LWF interfaith study in 2006 attempted to assess and respond theologically to new realities and challenges for Christian-Muslim relations. The goal was to go beyond tolerance and to seek deeper relationships of mutual respect and trust. For churches in the global South, the study of beliefs about ancestors and healing practices in spiritualistic movements is an increasingly important part of the interfaith agenda. Interfaith dialogue – as an effort to bridge religious divides, helps to defuse tensions and identify ways for multi-religious communities to tackle disputes, poverty, discrimination and violence. In Malaysia and Indonesia, Christians and Muslims interact peacefully in a daily “dialogue of life” and accept each other as people of faith. In Brazil, the church is attempting to understand the culture of Deni Indians and to face its own past complicity in colonization. The LWF emphasis on dialogue and dialogue as action encourages joint efforts for justice, peace and reconciliation in contexts of shared struggle. Underlying all these efforts is a theological perspective that allows for the existence of “the other” and provides the basis for a “common search for truth” in interfaith engagement.
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