Making Room for the Religious Other: Reading Interfaith Dialogue and Encounters in Australia from a Feminist Diasporic Perspective

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the religious diversity now found in Australia in the light of a Christian theology of other faiths. That core intention differs from an enquiry made under the rubric of interfaith dialogue. It is not designed to consider the mode of practice involved in dialogical encounters; nor is it concerned with a study of comparative beliefs between one faith and another. The underlying assumption is that the practice of interfaith encounters in this country requires more intentional theological work to be done within the Christian faith itself. In the service of that imperative the case is made for an appropriate theology to be established through the metaphor of home. The metaphor naturally lends itself into a rendering of the doctrine of the Trinity based on the oikonomia (the household) of God. This theological strategy is replete with several other advantages. Inasmuch as the home has often been seen as the domain of women, the metaphor enables a feminist perspective on a reconceiving of home as both a public and private sphere. It is in both of these spheres that this particular theology of other faiths is to be expressed. It also becomes a vehicle for diasporic interpretation insofar as those Christians who have migrated to Australia have been called upon to build a home in the new land. The practical consequence of this theological turn is to make a case for welcoming those of a different faith to practice their faith in this country on the basis of the oikonomia, economy of God.