Philippine E-Journals

JOHN PAUL II’S FIDES ET RATIO AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES IN INDIA

Gnana Patrick

 

Abstract:

This article argues that Fides et Ratio, the encyclical letter of John Paul II, embodies a unique vision of the relationship between faith and reason, theology and philosophy, and mythos and ratio, which are premised on a dialectical mutuality, ever endeavoring to fulfill one another, even while opening ever new horizons of truth. Faith deepens with the arrival of the propadeutic recta ratio, and reason springs out of its weariness on the intimations of faith. Such a vision would be an apt inspiration for taking up philosophical and religious studies, especially in academic circles. The article shows how a genre of religious studies failed to emerge in the Indian context for various reasons: Some opine that those who introduced modern education in India did not introduce religious studies in the curriculum, and that became the starting point for the absence of the presence of religious studies in Indian academia; others say that the then prevalent ‘secularist’ ethos Nehruvian era precluded the emergence of religious studies; however, a significant reason to be noted is the apprehension of the Indian mind over the pragmatic orientation of the western-inspired academic studies of religions. This article shows that there could be a holistic way, emergent in Fides et Ratio, to pursue philosophical and religious studies by way of promoting a dialogue between faith and reason, within the horizon of faith, manifest in the consciousness of mythos. An endeavor of religious studies in the Indian academia, embodying this holistic way of dialoguing between faith and reason, is, needless to say, the need of the hour.