Towards a Dialogic Community

Roman Catholic Church’s Dialogic Models for Construction of Religious Moderation and Social Cohesion in the Coastal Kenya

Abstract

This article sets out to analyse the forms of interreligious dialogue (IRD) adopted by the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) Archdiocese of Mombasa towards the promotion of social cohesion in the Coastlands of Kenya. RCC has been working with local communities in moderation of religious extremism and promoting harmonious interreligious relations. This research article argues that the RCC dialogic models are geared towards creating a dialogic community which is inclusive and cherishes equity over inequality, justice over injustice, peace over violence, and unity over disunity. In an attempt to build such a community, the RCC dialogic models was increasingly influenced by the Vatican II Council (1962-1965) and post-conciliar exhortation including Papal messages and Encyclicals. Thus, RCC took a multidimensional and integrated approach in partnership with other groups both Christian and non-Christians, faith-based and secular towards promoting interreligious dialogue. In a nutshell, it reviews that the four models of dialogue: the dialogue of life, the dialogue of action, the dialogue of religious experience, and the dialogue of theological exchange, adopted by the RCC Archdiocese of Mombasa, from 1983 to 2023. The four dialogical models re-mapped the ground for community development within a frame of ideas, such as friendship and solidarity based on mutuality, hospitality, and reciprocity between different religious groups. It also discusses some of the obstacles the RCC faced in its IRD initiatives. In conclusion, this article provides a contextual analysis of RCC’s pastoral approach and practice of IRD to social cohesion in the Coastlands of Kenya.