Developing Communities of Practical Wisdom: An Exercise in the Synthesis of Memory, Religion and Pragmatism in Religious Studies

There is an ancient tension between the values of being and doing , with, at various times, doing garnering the more important position. In truth, both are important and matter. There are reciprocity and rhythm in the cycle of being, learning, doing, and reflection where all dimensions inform the next. Hans Georg Gadamer (1982) wrote similarly that understanding, interpretation, and application were in relationship such that the individual components could not be separated. Religious Studies stands as a discipline at the juncture of both being and doing: awareness and appreciation for diverse cultural, spiritual, and value dimensions. It also poses the questions What is the value of religiously or spiritually-informed action in contemporary times? How do memory and tradition inform us, but not keep us constrained in boxes? How can we courageously step away and step out to use all that we know to meet what is yet unknown?