Towards an inclusive attitude with religious others in Catholic institutes of higher learning through loob-kapwa infused theology

• Main Author: Del Rosario, Roy John R.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2022
• Subjects: Cultural pluralism; Catholic universities and colleges; Culture > Philippines; Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_tred/4; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=etdm_tred
• Institution: De La Salle University

The study attempts to unleash the inclusive potentials existing in local culture, articulating that religious others’ (students) worldviews can contribute towards reimagining interfaith perspectives and cosmologies in Catholic academia. Thus, the study states and explores different approaches to religious diversity existing in ecclesial-academic spaces of Philippine Catholic tertiary schools. Using the descriptive-interpretative-constructive analysis, the paper proves that religious inclusivism is the viable response to the phenomenon of multi-religious classroom identification. Pertinent documents from the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference (FABC) testify that Asian model of harmony correlates with the mainstream Catholic theology’s inclusive nature. With particular focus on Philippine local constructs, pakikipag-kapwa is proven to have inclusive elements that could become an indigenized tool (re)articulating a theology of religious inclusivism. In this sense, the inclusive elements found in Filipino local culture through pakikipag-kapwa strengthen Catholic theology’s call for an inclusive Church that welcomes and embraces members of other faiths in academic contexts. Outcomes of the study intend to propose insights that guide theological educators using an inclusive approach in conducting Catholic theology classes with religious others. By applying these insights, healthy human relationships among teachers and students may be formed because of living out the Christian faith that is inclusive and friendly to all.