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Overcoming Religious Distance: Epiphanies in Cross-Cultural Settings

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Interfaith Engagement Beyond the Divide

Abstract

Researchers carry innate philosophical assumptions into their work, which may entail and perpetuate prejudice. Theoretical paradigms act as a kind of guiding compass of the research process, providing the analytic lens through which human experiences are understood or constructed. This chapter presents the axiological reflections of a novice Australian researcher of Indian descent—born in Mauritius in a Hindu family who later adopted Christian beliefs—engaged in a qualitative cross-cultural study in a remote region of Bangladesh, Bhola Island. The prolonged engagement at the research site with people of a different background, culture, language, and faith, and the reflexive approach throughout the journey caused a turning point in the Christian worldview of the researcher who returned to Australia deeply challenged in her philosophical and spiritual worldviews by the interreligious and intercultural immersion experience. This chapter brings her insights and epiphanies into conversation with interreligious introspection and thereby aims to inspire deeper interfaith dialogue.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    An upazila is an administrative region in Bangladesh functioning as a sub-unit of a district.

  2. 2.

    A char is a riverine tract of land or ‘island’.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Arts and Business, Alphacrucis University College, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Pratima Durga

  2. School of Business and Law, Central Queensland University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Pratima Durga

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  1. Pratima Durga
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Correspondence to Pratima Durga .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Research School, Alphacrucis University College, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Johannes M. Luetz

  2. Leaders Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Denise A. Austin

  3. Centre for Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia

    Adis Duderija

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Durga, P. (2023). Overcoming Religious Distance: Epiphanies in Cross-Cultural Settings. In: Luetz, J.M., Austin, D.A., Duderija, A. (eds) Interfaith Engagement Beyond the Divide. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-3862-9_15

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