Description
Book SynopsisIn Intimate Diversity Paul Smith explores theological implications of interreligious marriage. Taking a practical theology approach which begins with lived experience and works through a pastoral cycle involving interpretation, normative discussion and a pragmatic outcome, the book challenges the Church of England (or other denominations) fulfil three tasks: theological, pastoral and missional. Paul Smith accepts the reality of marriage that involves couples from different religious traditions and proposes ways of justifying such marriage based on normative Christian traditions. He takes a broadly missional approach, advocating the positive role that the Church of England can play in fostering good interreligious relations in society whilst offering sympathetic pastoral support of couples who marry across religious divides.
Trade Review"Intimate Diversity is a rich book; its conversation with numerous theological interlocutors brings together many strands of current thinking about interreligious encounter and of the debates about the nature of marriage (recently, the latter has often taken place in the context of discussions about same-sex marriages). The intertwining of these strands leads to a complicated but rewarding theology for interreligious marriage in the second part of the book." - Gé Speelman, Protestant Theological University, The Netherlands, in: Exchange (2023). "A book like The Origins of Anglican Moral Theology has been needed for quite some time, and by writing it Sedgwick has given a great gift to scholars of Anglicanism, church history, and theological ethics." - Stewart Clem, Aquinas Institute of Theology, USA, in: Anglican Theological Review (2022).
