Multireligious Reflections on Friendship: Becoming Ourselves in Community (Religion and Borders)

Multireligious Reflections on Friendship: Becoming Ourselves in Community presents a multi-religious discussion of spiritual and ethical formation through friendship. Contributors discuss the positive effects of friendship and some of the culturally diverse ways that friendships develop. Friends help us co-exist in diverse societies, live sustainably in our ecosystems, heal from trauma, develop inner virtues, engage wisely in social action, and connect with the divine. While friendship is a core human value, cultural traditions have used different tools to build friendships. For example, Indigenous communities emphasize reciprocity on the land; Jewish traditions encourage respect for study partners; Buddhist teachers suggest discernment in befriending; Christian texts speak of bringing God’s love into community. The fifteen scholars contributing to this book draw on the teachings of six different global traditions: Indigenous, Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist, Islamic, and Christian. Each scholar applies the tools of their tradition―reciprocity, respect, discernment, love, and more―to discuss how we might become our best selves in community.

Paul J. Wadell is professor emeritus of theology and religious studies at St. Norbert College. He is the author of several books, including Friendship and the Moral Life; Becoming Friends: Worship, Justice and the Practice of Christian Friendship; and Happiness and the Christian Moral Life: An Introduction to Christian Ethics (now in its 3rd edition).