The concept of friendship, while present in all the world religions, has not yet been adopted as a major category of reflection in comparative theology. However, in the context of comparative theological endeavors, ‘friendship’ seems to be an interesting and challenging term on two levels: On the one hand, ‘friendship’ can be understood as a dogmatic concept that may be helpful to understand questions such as the God-human-relationship, revelation, guidance and salvation. On the other hand, ‘friendship’ can be understood as a hermeneutical key to interreligious encounters in the sense of a mutual empowerment – even in the face of disagreements.
The fifth Paderborn Conference on Comparative Theology (PCCT) takes place from June 10thuntil June 12th in 2020 and it will address the theme of friendship from an interreligious perspective. The call for papers invites theologians and philosophers from all religious backgrounds to present an approach to the concept of friendship within a methodological framework of contemporary comparative theology. The conference welcomes proposals from PhD students (3rdyear upwards) as well as postdocs. The Centre of Comparative Theology and Cultural Studies will cover the cost of housing in Paderborn for the duration of the conference. Please send an electronic abstract of your paper (2 pages max.) for review by February 28th. Invitations to attend will be sent out by March 15th.
Contact:
aaron.langenfeld@uni-paderborn.de
Dr. Aaron Langenfeld
Centre for Comparative Theology and Cultural Studies
Warburger Straße 100
33098 Paderborn
