Interreligious Dialogue

Dialogue with people of other faiths is a major dimension of the Jesuit commitment to be companions of Jesus and servants of his mission. This mission includes being prepared to live alongside people of other faiths, acting as good neighbors to them, and being prepared to work with them for the common good.

This contemporary painting by Narsingh depicts Jesuits at the court of Akbar the Great (1556-1605)

Vatican II has exhorted all Catholics to a dialogue which will “acknowledge, preserve and promote the spiritual and moral goods found in other religions, and the values in their society and culture” in order to “join hands with them to work towards a world of peace, liberty, social justice and moral values.” The Holy Father has repeatedly asked Jesuits to make interreligious dialogue an apostolic priority for the third
millennium.

For many Jesuits, the dialogue with people of other faiths expresses itself through the dialogue of religious experience – learning how to listen to what others are saying and to enter into their spiritual lives through prayer and conversation.

For a few Jesuits, dialogue means theological exchange. It demands not just face-to-face debate but a life of study and constant reflection on what God may be saying through these other religious traditions.