Love and Truth in Democratic Societies: Fethullah Gülen and Pope Benedict XVI on Social Questions

Fethullah Gülen and Pope Benedict XVI are two religious thinkers who have tried to show how the teachings of their respective faiths should be put into practice in order to build more humane, just, and united societies.  Gülen has written extensively in various places on the questions of democracy and social solidarity, and has applied the values taught by the Qur'an and Islamic tradition to the needs of modern societies.  Pope Benedict issued, on 29 June 2009, his encyclical letter on social issues, Caritas in Veritate (Love in Truth).  In my paper, I will make a comparative study, trying to point out where there is a convergence of thought between Mr. Gülen and Pope Benedict and also indicating where their views diverge.

Thomas Michel, S.J., a St. Louis native who belongs to the Indonesian Jesuit Province, is Secretary of Interreligious Dialogue for the Society of Jesus in Rome. In Bangkok, Thailand, he also serves as Secretary for Ecumenism of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences. A Ph.D. in Arabic language and Islamic religion from the University of Chicago, Father Michel teaches regularly in Turkey, Indonesia, and the Philippines. In 1998 he gave the Martin D'Arcy Lectures at Oxford University on Muslim-Christian encounters in history.

 

 
 

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