This volume should rightly be considered a “handbook.” Leo Lefebure has assembled an enormous amount of material, meticulously documented, on American Catholics and how they have engaged the religious diversity of their country. He provides the historical background to contemporary issues and initiatives, then offers his own reflections on the theological resources available to Catholics for their continued engagement of American religious diversity. This is a valuable contribution.
The first third of the book recounts the historical development of the Catholic Church's theology vis-à-vis the rise of the modern world in Europe and its legacy for American Catholics. Catholic thinking about other religious communities is placed within Catholicism's complex relationship with American secularism, democracy, and intolerance. Lefebure also documents the teachings and activities of popes during the second half of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century. He then reflects on these developments in light of the historical experience of Catholics in the United States.
Lefebure goes on to document Catholic relations with specific religious communities in the United States. There is material on Catholic relations with Indigenous peoples, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists. In each case, the author provides us with historical background, contemporary developments, and a synopsis of the salient theological questions attending these encounters.
The last section of Lefebure's book is devoted to new developments in interreligious dialogue and Catholic theological thinking about religious diversity. Lefebure gives useful summaries of the contribution of figures such as David Tracy, Peter Phan, Robert Schreiter, and Francis Clooney. There are also chapters on pneumatology, Christology, and spirituality as lenses for discerning the meaning of religious diversity for American Catholics.
Among its many virtues, this book is not at all squeamish about dealing with controversy. As one would expect, Lefebure's treatment of Catholic-Jewish relations addresses the question of supersessionist theology and the origins of Nostra Aetate at the Second Vatican Council as a positive statement on the Catholic Church's relationship with the Jewish people. He also documents the efforts of John Paul II and, within the American context, John Pawlikowski in regard to Jewish-Catholic relations. With this as background, Lefebure goes on to give a nuanced account of tensions between US Catholics and Jews regarding the state of Israel and Israel's occupation of Palestine.
Lefebure also documents how Catholic outreach to other religious communities serves as a form of resistance to religious intolerance in the United States. His account of Muslim-Christian relations is noteworthy in this regard. After summaries of the work of Thomas Michel and John Renard, Lefebure documents how Catholic dialogues with Muslims address anti-Muslim sentiments in the wake of terrorist attacks of 9/11.
Toward the end of his book, Lefebure devotes an entire chapter to biblical exegesis as a resource for responding to religious diversity. He examines the history of biblical interpretation that supported hostility and suspicion toward other religions. He also highlights resources in the Bible for responding more positively to religious diversity as both a challenge and an opportunity. His treatment of the wisdom literature in the Bible is noteworthy. Holy Sophia may provide a meeting place for the religious traditions of the world, but the author is careful to remind his readers of the hermeneutical value of difference. In this, Lefebure turns to the work of Paul Ricoeur on religious language and the interpretation of sacred texts. His comments on the value of reading the Bible (both Testaments) with Jews could be expanded to include the careful reading of sacred texts (Christian and otherwise) with our friends who follow other religious paths.
In calling this volume a “handbook,” I wish to draw attention to its encyclopedic character. Lefebure has provided us with an enormous amount of historical data and theological reflection, all of which is carefully documented. This book will be of great value to anyone teaching in the area of religious diversity in America or hoping to negotiate the political and theological complexities of interreligious relations today.
