Doctrine and Dissent: Buddhist-Christian Reflections on Normativity and Authority

In the Christian tradition, doctrines have played an important role in setting the terms of theological speculation, while also drawing boundaries marking membership or exclusion from religious institutions. Dharma traditions, for their part, tended to envisage the philosophical articulation of particular insights as the expression of intellectual and existential realization. In the former case, doctrinal normativity expunged discordant positions as erroneous and misleading, whereas in the latter, the adoption of specific claims and positions often meant that alternative beliefs and practices were seen as defective, but arguably viable for individuals unable to reach a higher level of realization. The goal of this panel is to bring into conversation these distinct approaches to doctrinal reflection, foregrounding the distinctive significance that normativity possesses in various religious contexts because of their different approaches to anthropology, cosmology and soteriology.