ABSTRACT
An initial survey outlines the contours of the encounter to date. Particular attention is given to the informal and implicit dialogue present in daily encounters between Hindus and Christians; intentional or formal dialogue is less common. A taxonomy of dialogue has emerged and is assessed. Analysis and discussion then turns to: the justification and consequences of dialogue; the necessary conditions for fruitful dialogue; tension between commitment to faith-identity and openness to the other; several significant asymmetries in the encounter. A critique of the encounter acknowledges that, alongside commonalities, impediments to dialogue persist on both sides given an evolution of two diverse traditions in very different cultural contexts. Some significant diversities in faith and praxis continue to impede dialogue (including the disputed issues of mission and conversion, nationalism and Hindutva) so that misunderstanding and misrepresentation—whether intentional or not—persist. The future of Hindu–Christian dialogue is also considered.
