Theory of religious cycles and its application to interreligious dialogue and trans-religious theology

Abstract

The application of my theory of religious cycles to the development of inter-religious and transreligious thinking is twofold. First, it goes beyond the uni-religious approach and claims to religious exclusivity, by viewing different spiritual traditions as essentially one, by focusing on the common evolution of religions and arguing for the identical pattern of this evolution. Second, by distinguishing between the structural and systemic crises of religion, my theory offers a sound theoretical justification as to why people are irresistibly drawn into interreligious and transreligious ideas and attitudes. Our time is characterized by the total crisis of religious consciousness and, therefore, bears witness to different versions of syncretism and eclecticism out of which new religious movements are developed and established.

Keywords

• ideas
• religion
• theology
• trans-religious thinking