Panel: INTERFAITH DIALOGUE AND TRANSFORMATION



63.12 - ENGAGING WITH DISCOURSES ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND GENDER JUSTICE IN INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUES: A TRANSFORMING MATTER?

AUTHORS:
Grung A.H. (University of Oslo ~ Oslo ~ Norway)
Text:
Interreligious dialogues take many shapes and may have different aims, depending on various contexts and the partners involved. In the Norwegian context of interreligious dialogue, the Secular Humanist Organization has been an involved party since the start of these dialogue endeavours, entailing a re-naming of the activity into "faith and worldview dialogue" to make the inclusion visible. But the strong presence of the Secular Humanists has also meant that the language and epistemology of Human Rights has become a kind of lingua franca within the interreligious dialogue in Norway, because this is a strong commitment in this worldview community. In the Norwegian society, gender equality and gender justice is perceived as fundamental values, and there has been suspicions and prejudices against religious communities which is apprehended not to adhere to gender equality. This paper will discuss how engaging with discourses of Human Rights in interreligious dialogues has shaped and possibly transformed interreligious dialogues in the Norwegian context regarding discussions on Gender Equality and Gender Justice.