Task Force for Inter-religious Dialogue and Understanding

This task force was created in the Assembly of constitution of the International Association of Jesuit Universities, in Deusto (Bilbao), July 2018.

To paraphrase Hans Kung: There will be no peace in the world without peace among the world’s religions, and there will be no peace among religions unless we learn to dialogue.

Many societies across the world are witnessing growth in religious partisanship, sometimes side by side with various manifestations of secularization - both negative and positive.

The movement toward polarized fundamentalism can be found in every religious group. Secularism—the belief that religion is dangerous or irrelevant—is an equally challenging phenomenon.

Jesuit universities are distinctive by having both a Catholic commitment and direct access to believers and non-believers alike, Catholics, other Christians, and people of all faiths or none. What role can a Jesuit university play in advancing reconciliation and understanding in a world of religious diversity? How can we help young people avoid the twin extremes of fundamentalism and atheistic, materialist secularization?

Learn more about the two Programs of the Task Force

• Jesuit Higher Education, Religious Diversity and Secularization (JHERDS)
• Christian-Islam Dialogue