INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE IN THE RELIGIOUS STYLES PERSPECTIVE: A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF INSTRUMENTAL CASES By Sally Beatrix Swanson Ralph W. Hood Jr. David F. Ross Professor of Psychology Professor of Psychology (Chair) (Committee Member) Christopher F. Silver Full-time Lecturer in Learning and Leadership (Committee Member) INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE IN THE RELIGIOUS STYLES PERSPECTIVE: A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF INSTRUMENTAL CASES By Sally Beatrix Swanson A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Master of Science: Psychology The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chattanooga, Tennessee August 2019 ii Copyright © 2019 By Sally Beatrix Swanson All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Interreligious dialogue (IRD) is considered a sacred religious practice ([PCID], 2017; Merdjanova, 2016) and has become increasingly present in interventions to address conflict resulting from exposure to religious diversity (Cornille, 2013; Patel, 2018). However, few empirical efforts have examined the efficacy and outcomes of IRD. A grounded theory approach (Creswell & Poth, 2017) is well-suited to describe the nuanced role of religion in intergroup processes in major theoretical frameworks. Purposeful sampling (Patton, 2005) of 20 cases were selected from archival data of Faith Development Interviews (Streib & Keller, 2018) collected as part of the Developmental change in Spirituality project. Experiences of IRD were explored and analyzed through descriptions of instrumental cases and religious style scores. A thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) is used to identify common themes in IRD and the Religious Styles Perspective (Streib, 2001a). Implications of a theoretical framework for future research and application are discussed. Keywords: interreligious dialogue, religious styles, religious diversity, qualitative iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people contributed to the culmination of this project to which I have immense gratitude and owe considerable thanks. First, to my advisor and mentor, Ralph W. Hood Jr., for providing the opportunity to work alongside you in the psychology of religion, travel the world, and learn from your immeasurable wisdom. A thank you alone is insufficient to describe my gratitude for your unwavering support, empowerment, and influence. I am grateful for my additional committee members, David F. Ross and Christopher F. Silver, thank you for your guidance and encouragement. Thank you to my new advisor at the University of Maine, Jordan LaBouff, for your contribution to this work and incredible mentorship. Thank you to my mentors Thomas J. Coleman III and Kimberly Rios for your excellent examples and support. Thank you to my collaborators, both those who directly and indirectly contributed to the improvement of this work: Heinz Streib, Barbara Keller, Ramona Bullik, Constantine Klein, Lotte Pummerer, Michael Nielsen, Michael Olson, Robert Arrowood, Aaron Eldridge, and Cameron Mackey. Also deserving of thanks are the following individuals for their example and encouragement: Julie Exline, Alex Uzdavines, Nick Stauner, and the rest of the “expletives” lab, Kevin Ladd, Carissa Sharp, Kaila Rogers, Jacob Strimaitis, Shane Littrell, Jessica Hacker, KC Bagley, Laird Edman, and Kathy Johnson. Thank you to the entire UTC Psychology department. Thank you to Michael Swanson and Victor Pinedo. Finally, thank you to the John Templeton Foundation for the support of this project. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................x LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................... xii LIST OF SYMBOLS ................................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 II. GLOBALISATION .......................................................................................................4 Exposure to Religious Diversity ....................................................................................5 Relevance of Religion in Modern Conflict ..............................................................6 Religious Conflict and Violence ....................................................................................8 Religious Violence in the United States Post-9/11 ................................................10 Religious Identity in Religious Violence ...............................................................11 III. INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE ...............................................................................13 The Landscape of Interreligious Dialogue ...................................................................14 What IRD is Not ....................................................................................................15 Semantics of Interfaith and Interreligious..............................................................16 Historical Practices ......................................................................................................17 Cultural Context .....................................................................................................19 Common Examples ................................................................................................21 IRD in Education ...................................................................................................21 Call for Prayer ........................................................................................................22 Goals and Motivation ...................................................................................................23 Religious Duty .......................................................................................................24 Reactions to Religious Conflict .............................................................................25 Protection of Religious Freedom ...........................................................................26 vi Religious Study ......................................................................................................27 Proclamation and Conversion ................................................................................27 IV. THE EFFICACY OF INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE ............................................28 A framework for Understanding Interreligious Dialogue ............................................29 Efficacy ..................................................................................................................30 Current Theories of Criteria for Effective Interreligious Dialogue .............................31 Conditions for Interreligious Dialogue ..................................................................32 The Dialogue Decalogue........................................................................................32 Dialogue and Proclamation ....................................................................................34 Emergent Themes from Theory ...................................................................................34 Recognizing Differences ........................................................................................34 Finding Common Ground ......................................................................................34 Respect for Other Religious Convictions ..............................................................35 V. CONSIDERATIONS AND CRITICISM ....................................................................37 Considerations Ignored by Current Work on Interreligious Dialogue .........................38 Identity ...................................................................................................................39 Perspective Taking .................................................................................................42 Belief Rigidity ........................................................................................................43 Religious Belief .....................................................................................................44 Religious Maturity .................................................................................................45 Criticisms of Interreligious Dialogue...........................................................................45 Demographic Base in Current Practice ..................................................................46 Proclamation and Conversion ...............................................................................47 Pluralism ................................................................................................................48 Religious Diversity and Threat ..............................................................................50 Secularism ..............................................................................................................52