Comparative Theology: Theory and Practice

This conference represents the public session of the proceedings of the second annual meeting of the Comparative Theology of Religions Group (CTRG), to be held at the Pontifical Gregorian University on Sept. 30-Oct. 1, 2024. During the event, Prof. Dr. Klaus von Stosch, president of the International Center for Comparative Theology and Social Issues (CTSI) at the University of Bonn, will present comparative theology as an approach and methodology. In the second part, Dr. Nasrin Bani Assadi (CTSI) will provide a practical example of comparative theology by presenting the results of the book written by Prof. Dr. Muna Tatari and Prof. Dr. Klaus von Stosch on Mary in the Quran. The book is titled “Mary in the Qur'an: Friend of God, Virgin, Mother” (the English translation was published by Gingko Library in 2021).

 The CTRG is an international group of scholars from Judaism, Christianity and Islam formed to reflect together on issues related to the theology of religious pluralism through the approach of comparative theology, seeking to articulate the meaning of the religious other in their respective theologies. Members seek to learn from other theological traditions to develop their own theology of the other two religions. The first step in this project is to develop a theology of the partners' faiths, that is, a Christian theology of Judaism and Islam, an Islamic theology of Judaism and Christianity, and a Jewish theology of Christianity and Islam, so as to seriously consider the mutual impact of the theologies of each other's religions. The group aims to produce and discuss texts on these issues and to organize seminars and conferences. The group is supported and promoted by the International Center for Comparative Theology and Social Issues, Bonn University, Gregorian Center for Interreligious Studies and the John Paul II Center for Interreligious Dialogue.