Comparative theology has the term “comparative” in its title, but reflection on the consequences is weak. But comparative theology can only remain in interdisciplinary conversation if it is not limited to material comparison. On the interdisciplinary panel, theologians from the field of comparative theology will discuss this methodological deficit with a representative from religious studies. The focus will be on two questions: 1. How does comparative theology deal with the normative implications of comparative studies? 2. What role do the reflections in the neighbouring disciplines of theology play for (comparative) theology? If approved, the event would take place in cooperation with the Comparative Studies in Religion Unit of the AAR.
Do comparative theology and (non-theological) religious studies use the same comparative method? The central question to be discussed is how goals, content and methods relate to each other and what role transparency plays with regard to the religious interests of the researcher.
This paper surfaces the unique epistemology being developed at the ritual turn within comparative theology, in and through embodiment. These methodological queries are raised by the example of Catholic Eucharist and Sufi dhikr, demonstrating how learning ritually is structurally different than textually based learning.
Conceptions of God held by comparative theologians are shaped by the sources used. In addition to Moyaert’s foundational work, Mara Brecht offers somaesthetics and embodied reception of revelation to continue the development of the ritual turn.[i] An expansion of comparative theology to ritual, liturgy, embodiment, and beyond requires an interdisciplinary approach.
Previously unexamined questions reveal new aspects of the divine: How does God reveal Godself in and through bodies, shaped by ritual and liturgical practices? How is the comparative theologian’s epistemological perspective shifted through symbiosis of text and ritual?
[i] Brecht, Mara. “Embodied Transactions,” The Enigma of Divine Revelation, eds. Jean-Luc Marion, C. Jacobs-Vandegeer, Springer (Switzerland) 2020. 151-175.
Comparison in comparative theology is more than the determination of similarities and differences, more than a methodically reflected scientific approach, but a rhetorical act. Not only arguments, but also emotions are exchanged and political goals are pursued. How do we deal with a comparison that is more than rational methodology?