Team
The rich religious and cultural mosaic of Asia is widely recognized, with Asian Catholicism representing just one thread in this intricate tapestry. In today's world, interfaith families have gained increasing importance, reflecting the diversity and interfaith interactions that characterize modern society.
Extremely diverse in their lived realities, these families serve as compelling examples of interfaith cooperation, emphasizing the idea that love and commitment can transcend religious distinctions. On the one hand, such families play a pivotal role in fostering dialogue and mutual understanding among religious communities, contributing to the harmonious coexistence of various belief traditions in increasingly diverse Asian societies. On the other hand, interfaith families bring to the forefront several pressing societal issues that require in-depth investigation, intertwining with aspects of interfaith family life, including ethical and legal disputes, differences in intra-familial beliefs and customs, intergenerational and gender dynamics within the family, as well as challenges and transformations in family education, among other factors.
In our pursuit of a deeper understanding of interfaith families, we aim to establish a platform for discussions on interfaith families and marriages. We hope to engage individuals who share similar interests to share their insights and perspectives. Addressing these concerns necessitates further interdisciplinary research, drawing from fields such as sociology, anthropology, history, religious studies, and learning from the experiences of those in the field of religious practice.
8 May 2024
From 8 to 10 pm Singapore Time
An Asian Conversation on Inter-Faith Families
The Interfaith Families Project is hosting a 2 hour online conversation on the topic of Interfaith Families (and Marriages) in Asia.
The online conversation will be informal in nature, with the goal of encouraging a free-flowing discussion and community connections among participants.
To facilitate this, 5 members of the Interfaith Families Project - Francois Bretault (Singapore), Yuqing Du (China-Vietnam), Namita Manohar (India-USA), Fransiska Widyawati (Indonesia) and Hisako Omori (Japan) with start off the conversation with brief 5-minute presentations of their on-going research on Interfaith Families (and Marriages) in multiple Asian countries.
Their presentations will touch on 4 areas: their (1) research question (2) research methods (3) some areas of questioning/topics studied in the research, and (4) some emerging findings. The presentations, we hope, will be generative for the subsequent discussion on the topic.
We welcome scholars, researchers, community practitioners, and members of the clergy and religious communities to attend and participate.
Team
François Bretault (Singapore)
Francois, a Singapore resident since 1990, teaches French. His family, which includes his Singaporean wife and son, represents a rich blend of cultures. In his role as the Chairperson of CIFU (Centre for Interfaith Understanding), he is dedicated to finding ways to support interfaith couples. He is currently working on a collection of stories from interfaith couples for a book. Francois is also actively involved in World Wide Marriage Encounter Singapore.
Yuqing Du (China-Vietnam)
Yuqing Du is an assistant professor at the Institutes of Humanities at ShanghaiTech University in Shanghai, China. She obtained her doctoral degree in anthropology from SOAS University of London. Yuqing Du's research interests encompass the gender dynamics of interfaith marriages within the socio-cultural context of Vietnam. Her work places particular emphasis on the interplay of gender roles and the diverse experiences of women within these unions.
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Namita Manohar (India-USA)
Namita Manohar is a sociologist teaching at Brooklyn College - City University of New York. She is currently researching (Roman) Catholic interfaith marriages in Mumbai, India. Her ethnographic research examines the interpersonal, familial and institutional negotiations of religion in the making of interfaith marriages and interfaith families among Catholics in the Archdiocese of Bombay. To do this, she looks at several elements of interfaith family life including but not limited to: wedding and family rituals, organization of domestic space, socialization of children, extended family and religious community encounters, and the implications of interfaith marriages and families for Catholic practice in secular India.
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Fransiska Widyawati (Indonesia)
Fransiska Widyawati is an Indonesian scholar based in Universitas Katolik Indonesia Santu Paulus Ruteng at Flores, Eastern Indonesia. She earned my doctorate degree in inter-religious and cultural studies. Recently, she has been conducting research on the encounters between Christians and Muslims in Eastern Indonesia. Her new focus is on inter-religious marriages and families in Indonesia
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Contact
Our goal is to facilitate research on interfaith dialogues within the context of matrimony and intergenerational families delve into the broader aspects of everyday interfaith life.
We place a strong emphasis on conducting a comprehensive exploration of the socio-cultural and political dynamics inherent in interfaith families.
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If you wish to join this research collaboration or have questions about it, please feel free to contact us via email at: interfaithfamiliesasia@gmail.com
If you would like to stay informed about events and activities of this research collaboration, please register:
