Bringing Barth’s Critique of Religion to the Inter‐faith Table

Although he criticized Barth under the enigmatic phrase “positivism of revelation,” Bonhoeffer saw Barth’s criticism of religion as “his really great merit.” In the present age in which inter-faith dialogue has become more pressing than it has perhaps ever before been, theology can at times engage in two conversations that are not only separate but at worst self-contradictory: in its discussions with secular society, theology can engage in critical discussions about religion, drinking deeply from the well of criticism offered by the likes of Feuerbach, Nietzsche, Durkheim, and Marx; yet, in its discussions in inter-faith settings, the danger can arise that these critiques are thrown out altogether or at least lie in abeyance.