Program in World Religions and Inter-Religious Dialogue
Theological Consortium of Greater Columbus, Ohio
Dr. Paul D. Numrich, Associate Professor
Understanding the religions of the world and exploring the
variety of Christian perspectives on them.
- Ecumenical Christian setting of the Methodist Theological School in Ohio
(United Methodist Church), the Pontifical College Josephinum (Roman Catholic),
and Trinity Lutheran Seminary (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America).
- Multi-disciplinary approach to understanding the world’s religions.
Drawing upon insights from several academic disciplines (e.g., theological
studies, history of religions, comparative religious studies, social and
behavioral sciences), this Program provides a comprehensive understanding of
the human phenomenon of "religion" as well as the historical and contemporary
religions of the world.
- Commitment to open inquiry. Rather than indoctrinating a single
perspective, this Program explores the variety of Christian perspectives on
the world’s religions, a variety represented by the Consortium schools
themselves and within their respective student bodies. We encourage
seminarians to develop their own perspectives while preparing for faithful
participation in inter-religious encounters and informed leadership among
fellow Christians.
- Identifying guiding Christian values for inter-religious encounters. This
Program facilitates ecumenical Christian dialogue about shared Christian
values, an important—but often neglected—preliminary to faithful participation
in inter-religious encounters. We seek to discover the common ground of
Christian calling underlying the variety of Christian perspectives on the
world’s religions.