Thesis advisor: James T. Bretzke / Starting from the reality that we all live in multicultural pluralistic societies, and as such we cannot ignore each other but all must share our respective religious-cultural heritages and learn from one and another, this dissertation argues that although the theological dialogue among religions is to be promoted and developed constantly, we also have to give major space to other forms of dialogue, namely a dialogue based on bioethical issues and/or daily life-related problems that is part of our everyday religious experience. Therefore, in order to show this is possible, although with many difficulties to be faced along the way, the dissertation proposes disability as a common ground for Muslim-Christian dialogue and collaboration in the context of Turkey. The dissertation is structured into four chapters. Chapter I is focused on some characteristics of interreligious dialogue and, more particularly, on Muslim-Christian dialogue and disability. This chapter provides a broad descriptive introduction and establishes the framework within which these are considered: i.e., The Republic of Turkey, Islam and the presence of the Latin Catholic Church in Turkey. The chapter begins with a review of the foundations and history of the development of interreligious dialogue in the Catholic Church. Next, it proceeds with a presentation of Turkey and the major actors of Muslim-Christian dialogue in the country. Then, it concludes with a global focus on the situation of disability in Turkey. Chapters II and III are dedicated, respectively, to the Muslim and Catholic Church’s perspectives on disability, and so, share the same structure: Following general introductions to Islam and the Catholic Church, they analyze the Scriptures of their respective traditions, the Quran and the Bible, and their other major sources such as the Hadith and Islamic law in the former, and the Code of Canon Law, the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church in the latter. By focusing on various topics such as marriage of persons with disabilities, abortion of disabled fetus, Christian initiation and access to the sacraments, degrees of disabilities as impediment for priestly ordination, these two chapters aim to find the reverberations of the scriptural narratives in the teachings of these two traditions. After examining the historical development of some theodicy approaches to the dilemma of human suffering, the problem of evil, the existence of disabilities and God’s love, and wisdom and justice, this chapter ends by highlighting some applications in their contemporary contexts. In this regard, Chapter II presents two examples from Turkey: the controversial Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen’s approach to people with disabilities as “garip” (piteous, pitiful) and Muslim-Turkish scholar Mustafa Naci Kula’s research on the relationship between attitudes toward persons with disabilities and religious attitudes, which has provided considerable insight on the perception of disability in Turkish society. Parallel to this, Chapter III presents a Catholic figure, Nancy Mairs, who, in her writings, by dealing with personal disabilities, offers a contemporary version of classical theodicy approaches found in Catholic teaching in thinkers such as Augustine, Aquinas, and Irenaeus. The final chapter, Chapter IV, by the method of comparison, highlights relevant commonalities and differences and proceeds by discussing some relevant issues related to Muslim-Christian dialogue. Then, by reflecting on how disability can be a common ground on which to build fertile dialogue and collaboration, it concludes with a proposal which privileges five among many other possible topics: (1) Sin and disability seen as punishment; (2) Consanguineous marriages (3rd and 4th degree); (3) Abortion as a method to prevent birth of potentially disabled child; (4) Abuse of disabled women and children; and, (5) Charity and praying together. The first topic is based on the conviction that disability is given by God as a punishment for sin; it is one of the major beliefs that is shared among Muslims and Christians. The second, third and fourth topics are related to some social problems in Turkish society, namely, consanguineous marriages, abortion as a prevention of potentially disabled children, and the abuse of women and children with disabilities. Finally, the fifth topic aims at constructing dialogue and collaboration between Muslims and Christians through charitable works in Turkey. These topics are points related to the four main forms of dialogue proposed by Dialogue and Proclamation (1991) of Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, which are considered in this dissertation in a three-fold version: (1) Theological dialogue; (2) Dialogue of life experience and action; and, (3) Dialogue based on religious life experience. / Thesis (STD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

Thesis advisor: Ruth Langer / The topic of covenant is perhaps the most fundamental means for humans to think about their relationship to God within a particular religious tradition. Since the time of the Second Vatican Council, the Church has gradually been reconsidering what covenant means for Catholics worldwide, especially in relation to other traditions, namely Judaism. Therefore, this paper initially aims to identify what covenant means for Jews and Catholics on an individual basis and how each tradition has historically thought about the other. Secondly, being written from a Catholic standpoint, this paper aims to redefine what covenant means for Catholicism in terms of how it addresses Judaism. Ultimately, this paper proposes a Catholic model for thinking about Judaism in a non-supersessionist manner. / Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Theology.

This paper is a case-study on a group of American students, who spent a four- month period in Oman on a semester abroad program hosted by Al Amana Cen- tre. This paper examines the changes that have occurred in the students concep- tual thinking, their attitudes towards Muslims, Arabs and Islam and their personal theology, and identifies causes of those changes. In the first section, I will introduce the interfaith work that Al Amana Centre does, and lay a summary of the history and theory of Christian-Muslim dialogue. I will also explain the concept of Theology of Religion, which is central in examining the students’ own theological views. I will also introduce transformative learning theory that I use as a theoretical framework in this study In the last section of this paper, I analyze the research material which includes program curriculum, student interviews, student essays and students’ answers to questionnaires and surveys. From this material, I have identified repeating ideas and patterns and compared them to the framework offered by transformational learning theory. This paper seeks to answer to the question: what kind of effects does the Al Amana semester abroad program, infused with cultural immersion, have on the students in this particular case study. In the conclusion part of this paper, I con- clude that the semester abroad program facilitates opportunities for deep reflec- tion and extrarational experiences that work as a catalyst for transformation. It is hoped that this study can offer guidelines for other programs that aim at transforming attitudes and believes, and that work with cultural immersion and interfaith dialogue. It should be noted though, that the conclusions and outcomes of this study are tied to the specific context and people who attended the semes- ter abroad program, and should not be taken as universal or context-free.

Le dialogue culturel méditerranéen connaît aujourd'hui une période difficile. Or, à la fois connexe et indépendante, la dimension religieuse offre un autre canal possible de dialogue dans les relations méditerranéennes. Les transformations du regard chrétien porté sur l'islam amorcées dès l'entre-deux-guerres, puis les pratiques du dialogue entre chrétiens et musulmans, en métropole et outre-Méditerranée, favorisent progressivement l'affirmation du dialogue islamo-chrétien sur le devant de la scène méditerranéenne. Dans les années 1960, le concile Vatican II marque un temps fort dans ce processus. Rattrapé par ses propres ambiguïtés et soumis aux forces de la géopolitique méditerranéenne, le dialogue islamo-chrétien entre cependant, à la fin des années 1970, dans une période plus chaotique rythmée aussi bien par des actes symboliques en faveur de la paix que par des crispations identitaires. En faisant appel à diverses sources de documentation, en particulier le fonds réuni par le Service des Relations avec l'Islam (SRI), ce travail propose un panorama historique des acteurs, des enjeux et des limites du dialogue islamo-chrétien en Méditerranée au XXe siècle. Des retours sur l'histoire et les acteurs marseillais illustrent ces évolutions. / Intercultural dialogue in the Mediterranean is undergoing hard times. However the religious dimension, connected and independent at the same time, offers another possible channel of dialogue in the Mediterranean relations. The transformations of the Christian perception of Islam started during the interwar period, then the practices of the dialogue between Christians and Muslims, in mainland France and beyond the Mediterranean Sea, gradually promote the Islamo-Christian dialogue on the Mediterranean forefront. In the 1960s, the Second Vatican Council stands out in this process. Trapped inside its own ambiguities and conditioned by Mediterranean geopolitical settings, the Islamo-Christian dialogue however enters a much more chaotic period punctuated both by symbolic acts for peace and identical tensions at the end of 1970s. Inspiring by multiple documentation sources, in particular by the collection of the Service des Relations avec l'Islam (SRI), the present work offers an historic overview of the actors, the stakes and the limits of the Islamo-Christian dialogue in the Mediterranean Sea throughout the 20th century. Historic reviews and the actors from Marseille illustrate such development.

In contemporary society, distinct traditions are bleeding into one another, blurring traditional lines of inquiry and historically significant boundaries. This phenomenon frames this project and creates the context for the Yoga-Christian praxis dialogue this study constructively critiques. Unfortunately, this dialogue exhibits an Eliadean concern for essentialism and universality. I challenge this trend by juxtaposing two distinct texts, Patañjali‘s Yoga-Sūtra and Gregory of Nyssa’s Life of Moses. These texts point to the similar idea that without striving and personal transformation neither the yogic practitioner nor practicing Christian logically subsists. More importantly, however, from this point of correspondence I constructively critique the Yoga-Christian praxis dialogue by concretely engaging these texts and paying particular attention to the differences inherent in them. My comparison, then, suggests how attention to particularity points to a more authentic dialogue: what I wish to call a dialogue of distinction without separation.

The thesis explores the Jewish view of Jesus Christ of Geza Vermes concept and its possible influence on the Jewish-Christian dialogue. This Jewish researcher is known primarily as a popularist of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were translated by him into English for the first time. Admittedly he is significant in the field of Jesus Studies. We present the author's perception of Jesus according to his life and work with focus on selected New Testament passages. Furthermore we focus on Messianic Judaism as a potential bridge in the Jewish-Christian dialogue, and discuss the conteporary state of these relations. A research survey was also developed on the subject of the dialogue. Finally, we summarize and evaluate the contribution of Geza Vermes' work, with emphasis on its use in the Jewish-Christian dialogue, with the support of our own research based on Czech experts,that complements the acquired piece of knowledge.