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Decolonizing Religion: Wishful Thinking or a Real Possibility?


Religion also played an important role in one of the most tragic episodes in human history: colonialism. The explicit and implicit roles of Christianity, whether Catholicism and Protestantism, in validating and legitimizing Western imperialism are historical realities that need to be accepted and addressed. On the other hand, it is also important to acknowledge that religious actors also played an important part in various decolonization and liberation movements in the non-Western world. This ambivalence in various global issues poses two important questions for the UP CIDS Decolonial Studies Program. First, how should we address and rectify the colonial logic currently persisting in modern-day scholarship in religious studies? Second, how can religious actors in the contemporary period address their historical and current participation in the persistence of coloniality, as manifested in terms of doctrine and rituals? To answer these questions, this paper draws inspiration from the two roundtable discussions (RTDs) that were organized by the Decolonial Studies Program (DSP) of the University of the Philippines’ Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP CIDS). These discussions were held in Ang Bahay ng Alumni, University of the Philippines Diliman in April and May 2019. Attended by several foreign and Filipino senior scholars and early career researchers (ECRs) hailing from reputable universities in the Philippines, the United States, and Europe, the two RTDs were enriched by interdisciplinary perspectives from participants’ think pieces. Their contributions drew inspiration from the following fields, namely, anthropology, history, international relations, interreligious studies, Islamic studies, political science, sociology, and theology.

 


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