Berkley Center

This course will explore a variety of Christian theologies in Asia regarding interreligious relations, socioeconomic challenges, movements of liberation, and women’s experience. Asian Christians face many distinctive challenges as religious minorities amid the many religions and the many poor in most South, Southeastern, and East Asian countries; Asian Christian women face particular challenges in these contexts because of issues of gender. This course will explore the issues of religious diversity that Asian Christians face and examine how Christian theologians in Asia interpret Christian faith in relation to many different religious traditions, as well as differing religious, political, societal, economic, and social challenges. After a general survey of liberation theologies from Asia, the course will explore the liberation theology proposed by Sri Lankan Jesuit Aloysius Pieris in dialogue with Buddhism, as well as Agnes Brazal’s exploration of liberation-postcolonial ethics in the Philippines. The course will examine feminist theology in East Asia and will conclude by exploring Christian theologies in relation to the Daoist tradition. This course (THEO 146) was taught by Leo Lefebure as a Doyle Seminar in fall 2020. Please refer to the current course catalog for an up-to-date description of the course.