Who Should Be Allowed to Participate in Official Interreligious Dialogues? A Review of Issues

Interreligious dialogue is an important communications activity that has many of the characteristics and problems of new religious movements. Failure can be devastating, and yet scant critical attention has been devoted to assessing the legitimate qualifications of event participants. Seven dialogic parameters were identified and explicated pertaining to: (a) sanctioning, (b) representation, (c) relevancy, (d) knowledge, (e) technical competence, (f) articulation, and (g) appropriateness. Professional awareness of their range, depth and contours has important ramifications for participant selection, preparation and event organisation.