Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Interreligious studies is a young and growing academic field that studies interreligious relations and dialogue. This presentation asks what interreligious studies might look like if the Indian experience is centred within this academic field, not merely as an object of study but as the vantage point from which concepts such as dialogue, research, and inter-religiosity are understood. On the most fundamental level, for much of India’s history, there was no single concept in use that corresponds directly to the English word “religion”. At the same time, India has a rich history of intergroup encounters and debates, and its own conceptual vocabulary for navigating plurality. The presentation offers initial points of reflection on interreligious studies from an Indian perspective.
Interreligious studies is a young and growing academic field that studies interreligious relations and dialogue. This presentation asks what interreligious studies might look like if the Indian experience is centred within this academic field, not merely as an object of study but as the vantage point from which concepts such as dialogue, research, and inter-religiosity are understood. On the most fundamental level, for much of India’s history, there was no single concept in use that corresponds directly to the English word “religion”. At the same time, India has a rich history of intergroup encounters and debates, and its own conceptual vocabulary for navigating plurality. The presentation offers initial points of reflection on interreligious studies from an Indian perspective.
