Jan Van Bragt

Interreligious Affinities

Encounters with the Kyoto School and the Religions of Japan

For over forty-five years Jan Van Bragt labored as one of the pioneers of interreligious dialogue in Japan, leaving behind him an impressive body of written work, most of it having to do with the intellectual and spiritual encounter between Christianity and Japanese Buddhism. Interreligious Affinities is a selection of his writings focusing on the bridges Van Bragt strived to cast between established traditions, between philosophy and theology, between doctrine and religious reality, and between the mystical and the everyday. Again and again Van Bragt insists that the lived, existential needs of religious believers need to be understood not only in terms of the particular heritage of symbols and teachings to which they are affiliated but also in terms of the wider needs of the human community.

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Well before our present-day controversies between “comparative theologians” and
“theologians of religions,” Jan Van Bragt demonstrated that one can be, and must
be, both. This marvelous collection shows him both exploring the foundations
for a bold Christian engagement with other religions as well as confirming the
suspicion of Lévi-Strauss that “a slow osmosis with Buddhism might make us more
fully Christian.” Von Bragt’s voice—soft and gentle throughout his life—needs
now to be heard loudly and broadly.  — Paul F. Knitter

This collection of articles offers a penetrating look into the thought of Jan Van
Bragt, one of the great pioneers of the Buddhist-Christian dialogue in Japan. From
his treatment of fundamental questions in the dialogue such as the relationship
between self-power and Other-power to his critical reflection on the thought of his teacher, Nishitani Keiji, this book contains a wealth of insight that will continue to surprise and inspire scholars involved in the dialogue between Buddhism and Christianity. — Catherine Cornille

With his feet firmly planted in actual experience, Van Bragt offers a sober and
refreshing look at two increasingly intersecting religions. His essays restore balance
and common sense in an era that has swung between enthusiastic approbation
and selective distortion. The essays on Kyoto School philosophers, especially
Nishitani Keiji, presses these thinkers—and the author himself—for relevance,
clarity and consistency, even while recognizing the evolution that their thinking
has undergone. Van Bragt’s straight talk is unflinchingly honest and illuminating. — John C Maraldo