Panel of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) to focus on monograph by Perry Schmidt-Leukel from the Cluster of Excellence
An interdisciplinary panel at one of the largest conferences for research on religion, the American Academy of Religion (AAR) in San Diego in November, will take as its subject the English-language edition of the book by religious scholar and theologian Perry Schmidt-Leukel, The Celestial Web: Buddhism and Christianity – a different comparison (2024). This will see experts in comparative religious studies, comparative theology, Buddhist-Christian studies, and Buddhism discuss Schmidt-Leukel’s comparison of Buddhism and Christianity. The monograph reports on findings from the research project that Schmidt-Leukel carried out at the Cluster of Excellence, “Structures and Patterns of Religious Diversity”.
Schmidt-Leukel’s work on pluralistic religious theology, interreligious theology, Buddhist-Christian relations, and interreligious dialogue has inspired international research on religion by way of numerous publications. He is particularly well known for his work on the fractal theory of religious diversity, which argues that, especially with regard to their internal diversity, the major religions are much less foreign to each other than is often assumed, and are indeed similar. (pie/tec)