Master of Arts in Interreligious Dialogue. Science, Philosophy and Theology of Religions

A Master’s programme of Istituto Rete (Lugano Faculty of Theology): Master of Arts in Interreligious Dialogue. Science, Philosophy and Theology of Religions will be available on line as from October 2021.

Completely online and in English, the new Master’s course took inspiration from the Italian Master Online in Scienza, Filosofia e Teologia delle religioni; it is because of such Master’s course, which has been held for 10 years now, that Istituto ReTe can boast extensive experience in remote education. Many people have earned their qualifications through such programme and are now working as teachers, in communication or in research in religions and interreligious relationships.

As is known, the subjects that Istituto ReTe specialises in concern religions and theology, as summarised by its acronym. The focus is on the relationships among different confessions and their – not just potential but essential – chances of dialogue. Actually, the need for a constructive dialogue that may bring people with different religious traditions to relate to each other has become more and more pressing nowadays. Devotees are increasingly seeking to understand each other’s arguments and share hope in a Beyond that may make sense of reality.

So, it is now more relevant than ever for a Christian to consult an Islamic brother about faith or for a Buddhist to know the philosophical movements that best make him converse with the Western

identity best. All such dimensions have been recently put in the limelight by Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, who felt the urgent need – as aptly demonstrated by his encyclical Fratelli Tutti and his apostolic journeys – for a dialogue that should involve devotees all over the world.

These are the considerations that led our new Master’s course to address religions. One of the main goals of the course is learning the foundations of the world’s five most widespread religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism) as well as the relationships between religion and law, religion and geopolitics, and lastly religion and philosophy. In particular, the last term of the two-year course will provide important insights into the Theory and practice of Interreligious Dialogue, in the attempt to concretely look at the chances for different cultures and traditions to come into contact with each other.

Applications are now officially open, and you can enrol all through the next term (September 2021 to February 2022). Classes will already be available online, asynchronously, as from October 2021.

In addition, note that, if you are interested in enrolling in the Master’s course, Istituto ReTe will be offering lots of scholarships; to apply for a scholarship, just read the procedure on the Master’s presentation page on the website of Istituto ReTe.

For a detailed programme of the course and a list of the lecturers, see: