Intercultural communicative competence means being able to establish trustful relationships in spite of differences in world-views, values and behaviour. In the intercultural field, this general approach is shared by most researchers, curriculum designers and trainers. Religion is undoubtedly an essential element of being a human and of human cultures. And if self-awareness is a first step towards respecting ‘otherness’, our personal / group-related / culture-based attitude towards our own and others’ religion(s) is worth being addressed in intercultural training concepts.
It may come as a surprise, then, that religion is rarely mentioned in the context of intercultural training. Exceptions exist, of course, such as training concepts developed for medical care students.
Experienced professionals know how important the interface between religion and culture can be. But to quote a recent article published by the Oxford Research Encyclopaedia of Communication, “the discourse about religion, culture, and communication is still in its infancy, though it continues to grow at a steady pace”
To read the full article by Stephen M. Croucher, Cheng Zeng, Diyako Rahmani, Mélodine Sommier (2017). Religion, Culture, and Communication
