Narrative Theology and Cultural Dialogue

Using narrative and performance studies, this book offers a unique vision for interfaith dialogue in a multicultural world.

Following the theology of H. Richard Niebuhr and Stanley Hauerwas, Brett Patterson contends that the relationship between religious narratives and our embodied experiences within communities of faith are reciprocal. Drawing together two key strands of "liberal" and "neo-orthodox" American Christian theology, this book uses literary theory to better understand how the Christian narrative shapes the ways Christians understand religious beliefs and practices. In this context, "narrative" is not only a particular theological point of view, such as a Biblical, Christian narrative, but also the cultural worlds in which we live. By considering the narrative of American Christian theology, Patterson questions the theological and cultural stories that shape contemporary believers.

Ultimately, Patterson wields these insights on how religious narratives shape religious experiences to consider how to foster more meaningful multicultural encounters. Written from a Protestant Christian perspective, this book argues that, when Christians embrace the importance of dialogue to the story of the Incarnation, it can be used as a unique theological model for cross-cultural encounters. Patterson contends that when Christians better understand their own stories and positionalities, they are better equipped to engage in and learn from interfaith dialogue.