Replacement or substitution in the meeting of religions

Authors

• Carl Diehl

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30674/scripta.67036

Keywords:

Syncretism, Religions -- Relations, Pluralism, Religious

Abstract

This paper provides an investigation of the meeting of Religions. Such a meeting may result in a perpetual existence side by side with no mutual contact or influence perceptible. Examples are easily found, Christians, Muslims and Hindus have lived side by side in India for centuries with little or no contact. Individually they may meet and even be mutually present at religious functions but officially and through 'office-bearers' there was no contact except as attempts at replacement. Another example may be taken from Spain where Christianity and Islam lived for centuries together. Whereas the cultural history of Spain is exhibiting a rich array of products of art, literature and thinking as a result of mutual influence there is hardly any manifestation of religious exchange as far as the organized forms of Christianity and Islam are concerned. Geographical boundaries are not decisive in spite of the popular way of dividing the earth in Christian and non-Christian countries, Buddhist countries and others. Not even the political border lines drawn on principle between "daral Islam,that is extending the mundane area of Islamic control", and the rest of the world is absolute. People of different faiths live side by side without meeting one another as far as their religious experience is concerned.