You are here

Home

Reflecting on Buddhist-Christian Double Belonging: A 2024 Update

Submitted to Program Units
1: Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies

Grace Song, Won Institute of Graduate Studies, Presiding

Abstract for Online Program Book (maximum 150 words)

This session will serve as a current update on various aspects of the oft-discussed theme and growing phenomenon of Buddhist-Christian double belonging. The panelists come from various backgrounds but what binds them together is that each one of them has been engaged deeply in practice of and reflection about Buddhist-Christian double belonging. Each of them will therefore offer important reflections as well as concrete suggestions about this current phenomenon and its promise and potential problematic aspects.

Papers

  • James Ford,

    A Three Body Problem

    Abstract

    Desiderius Erasmus asserted: while his heart was Catholic, his stomach was Lutheran.  In this presentation, exploring this liminal space, the presenter claims his own physiology of faith: a Buddhist brain, a Christian heart, and a rationalist stomach. This perspective has informed his life for many decades, including some thirty-five years as both a Unitarian Universalist minister, and more as a Zen practitioner, and later teacher. His sixth book, the Intimate Way of Zen: Effort, Surrender, and Awakening on the Spiritual Journey (July 2023) explores the arc of a spiritual life, rooted in Zen Buddhism but deeply informed by Christian mysticism. His seventh book, Zen After Religion explores what Zen might look like with no supernatural claims.

  • Kunihiko Terasawa, Wartburg College

    Understanding the Ultimate and Social Engagement from a Buddhist-Christian Perspective

    Abstract

    The phenomenon of (religious) Double Belonging might be necessary for us to deepen our understanding of reality, including the self and the world through our ultimate and various religious experiences. Double Belonging enhances spiritual growth in the understanding of the ultimate and in social engagement for peace and social transformation. This presentation is informed in a major way by the presenter’s personal context which consists in being Buddhist -Christian (a Lutheran and Risshō-Kōsei-Kai member).

    The following themes will be touched: Double belonging (especially the notions of Kenosis and Sunyata) and how they can help prevent the understanding of ultimate reality from becoming static/substantial and maintain it as a dynamic and relational one.

    In terms of social engagement, Buddhist-Christian double belonging can aid in promoting the interreligious and transnational solidarity of religion as a form of resistance to the growing trend of ultranationalist populism in today’s world.

  • Todd Yonkman,

    Multiple Religious Belonging and Community Leadership from a Buddhist-Christian Perspective

    Abstract

    How does multiple religious belonging (MRB) affect leadership of religious communities and the religious communities themselves? Specifically, when the leader is a dual belonging person, what repercussions does it have for ministry? As a Buddhist-Christian local (Christian) church pastor and an Assistant Teacher at a Zen temple, the questions above form a kind of “koan” at the heart of my calling and my practice, that is, the koan of dual belonging. This paper draws from my own experiences of MRB in my leadership roles, the effects of MRB leadership on the communities I serve, and the broader implications for the practice and theory of multiple religious belonging. The paper engages selected literature to sketch a “practical coherence” among strands of the two traditions to which I belong.

  • Ruben L. F. Habito, Southern Methodist University

    Problems and Perils of Multiple Religious Belonging

    Abstract

    In this presentation, I will take on the role of Devil’s Advocate, and present problems and perils of multiple religious belonging, which I myself continue to face in my own path of Zen Buddhist practice while maintaining and upholding the ground  I stand on as a Roman Catholic Christian.

    There is a saying in Japanese that goes (in English translation) "one who tries to run after two rabbits gets neither." Does this apply in multiple religious practice? One issue that is inevitably raised for those practicing in or seeking to belong to more than one religious tradition, is that of divided loyalty to differing communities of adherents. Another is the question of the apparent incompatibility of the doctrinal frameworks in which the different practices are presented as their context. A third issue is the internal consistency of the individual practitioner in terms of self- understanding and self expression. I will offer some reflections on how these issues may be addressed with integrity, though not necessarily resolved

Responding
Sarita Tamayo-Moraga,

Full Papers Available

No
Schedule Info

Saturday, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Session Identifier

P23-201