Secrets of Religion: How They Build Bridges Between Cultures!

Secrets of Religion: How They Build Bridges Between Cultures!

Exploring the mysteries in religions reveals fascinating insights into their unifying power. Dr. Knut Martin Stünkel, who researches at the Center for Religious Studies (CERES) at the Ruhr University Bochum, has put forward the thesis in his more than 15 years of research that secrets in religious contexts promote contact between people, contrary to the sociological assumption that they have an isolating effect. All religions, according to Stünkel, contain elements of mystery that have a common, basic structure as a semantic gap.

Examples include the innermost parts of the temple in Judaism, the inscrutable counsel of God in Christianity, secrecy in Buddhism to protect the secrets of others, and secret rituals accessible only to initiates. Historical observations show that religious mysteries played a role in ancient traditions, such as the Egyptian mysteries or the early Christian positions towards Greek mysteries. Religious studies aims to examine these mysteries as a phenomenon and to shed light on their diverse functions.

Interreligious dialogue as a solution

The relevance of the secrets in the context of interreligious and intercultural dialogue is also highlighted by other experts. Loud Religion.ch Societies can benefit enormously from active conflict management. Over 80 percent of people worldwide identify with a religion, and intercultural conflicts with religious connotations are present not only in distant countries, but also in countries like Switzerland.

When conflicts arise because people feel affected by the actions of others, the importance of mediation as a neutral third-party intervention becomes obvious. Interreligious dialogue promotes inclusion and unity in diversity and can break through stereotypes of the enemy and overcome polarized thinking. An example from Switzerland shows how such dialogues are practiced in the canton of Graubünden, where over 120 nations and 30 religious communities live together. Initiatives such as the Graubünden Forum of Religions, which was founded in 2020, play a crucial role in promoting interreligious exchange.

The practices of dialogue

In-depth dialogue can serve not only to defuse tensions, but also to strengthen a sense of community within a diverse society. In Davos, a catalog of measures for communication between locals and Jewish guests, especially Haredim, was developed. Nevertheless, it is clear that these challenges can represent opportunities for a new beginning.

The Berlin Missionary Work highlights how important interreligious skills are in a religiously plural society. Understanding the cultural and religious roots of others is essential to enable genuine dialogue. This is seen as a key qualification for interreligious exchange. The Protestant Church plays a central role in this by promoting encounters between different faiths and stimulating theological dialogue.

Dealing with secrets in religions and active participation in interreligious dialogue are therefore not just academic topics, but they have applications in real life. Both areas promote much-needed understanding and communication between people of different cultural and religious backgrounds. This intention of Dr. Stünkel and other researchers make it clear how important it is to view secrets as a unifying force and to use interreligious dialogue as an essential building block for a common future.