Beyond Boundaries

Perry Schmidt-Leukel has made significant contributions to the academic study of religion and religious diversity through his innovative work in Theology and Religious Studies. In his publications, he has not only overcome apologetic barriers between Buddhism and Christianity and demonstrated the potential for mutual enrichment of various religious traditions in dialogue, but also championed a pluralist Theology of Religions. On this pluralist basis, Schmidt-Leukel has developed the vision of a theology beyond boundaries, which takes the form of interreligious discourse and draws on the rich resources and insights of the global history of religions.

This Festschrift in honor of Perry Schmidt-Leukel on the occasion of his seventieth birthday brings together essays that constructively engage with his erudite and wide-ranging contributions to the fields of Theology of Religions, Interreligious Theology, Philosophy of Religion, Buddhist and Religious Studies, Buddhist-Christian Relations, and Interreligious Dialogue.

Pressestimmen

Given Perry Schmidt-Leukel’s breadth, depth, and creative rigor, it is no surprise that Beyond Boundaries gathers so many wide-ranging, theologically substantive essays.[...] His influence is visible throughout this volume - not only in the topics chosen but also in the dialogical, comparative, and methodologically open posture that characterizes the best of these chapters. [...]While space does not permit discussion of every contribution, the other chapters likewise maintain a consistently high level of rigor and creativity. They collectively demonstrate the breadth of Schmidt- Leukel’s impact and the ver-satility of his ideas. The fractal interpretation of religious diversity receives sus-tained and creative treatment; [...]Ultimately Beyond Boundaries succeeds as both homage and invitation. [...] For scholars of interreligious and comparative theology, the book is an essential testament to a thinker whose commitment to dialogical rigor, comparative imagination, and human- centered scholarship continues to inspire across traditions.
Hans Gustafson, in: Journal of Ecumenical Studies, Vol. 61, Number 1, Winter 2026, pp. 141-144.

Beyond Boundaries is an important tour de force of Perry Schmidt-Leukel’s authoritative and lasting contribution to contemporary Christian theology and religious studies [...].The essays in this volume make up a valuable library of the di-verse and defining aspects of Schmidt- Leukel’s multifaceted scholarship. This makes it a useful introductory book for students, researchers, and lay readers who would like to introduce them-selves to the breadth of Schmidt- Leukel’s work. [...] The book is certainly not a resource with which to end one’s research, but it is one from which scholars can reliably and usefully begin their exploration.
Najib George Awad, in: The Ecumencal Review, Vol. 77, pp. 342-344.URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/erev.70015