Profile of the Department
The Department of Intercultural Philosophy of Religion is dedicated to questions of metaphysics and philosophical theology, philosophical anthropology, and the philosophical (self-)interpretations of religious traditions in Europe and beyond. As an part of the Catholic Theological Faculty, the history and current trends in Christian philosophy form an indispensable area of its academic work. Research and teaching focus on systematic philosophy of religion, drawing on current approaches and debates in the global philosophical discourse.
Description of the academic subject
“Intercultural Philosophy of Religion” is a systematic philosophy of religion that draws on current approaches and debates in the global philosophical discourse. Despite the indispensable knowledge of religious traditions, intercultural philosophy of religion is not limited to historical-philological research, but seeks dialogue with secular and religious philosophical currents in Europe and other regions of the world.
The intercultural orientation of philosophy of religion encompasses several dimensions:
- Numerous religious traditions themselves emerged from intercultural processes.
- In the course of their spread to other regions, religious traditions developed new forms of spirituality, theological thinking and institutional organization through processes of inculturation.
- In the global modernity, religious traditions face the challenge of new self-interpretations in a global dialogue between religions and philosophies in the world.
- Interreligious dialogues, in turn, require philosophical and systematic reflection on the conditions for intercultural understanding, as currently discussed worldwide in approaches to intercultural, transcultural, and comparative philosophy.
- A systematically oriented intercultural philosophy of religion deals with religious traditions from a normative-critical perspective, reflecting on their relationships to politics and society, especially to democracy and human rights.
- An intercultural philosophy of religion seeks in a special way to engage in dialogue with the (religious) philosophies of the Global South, in order to confront the role of religions in global power relations, including the history of different forms colonialism.
Main research fields
Promoting the project of an intercultural philosophy of religion, the academic activities of the department focuses on the following areas:
- In its research work, the Department of Intercultural Philosophy of Religion seeks cooperations with philosophical, theological, and cultural studies institutes in Europe and beyond. In Vienna, it has a long-standing collaboration with the Vienna Society for Intercultural Philosophy (WIGIP).
- The Department of Intercultural Philosophy of Religion is methodologically oriented toward the various currents of so-called “continental philosophy” and the approaches of intercultural and transcultural philosophy.
- The department offers basic introductions to the main disciplines of philosophy, in particular metaphysics, philosophical theology, philosophy of religion, and philosophical anthropology. The disciplines are selected and weighted according to their relevance to the study of Christian theology, different philosophies of religion, and religious studies.