The complexities of achieving religious pluralism in the midst of many diverse, and sometimes conflicting theological viewpoints, is the focus of Welcoming the Interfaith Future: Religious Pluralism in a Global Age, by Episcopal priest, scholar and diplomat Frederick Quinn. Fuelled by his own commitment in the ‘wideness of God's mercy’, Quinn explores religious diversity as a theological and experiential topic, elucidating both the serious challenges and the hopeful possibilities.

Readers of this journal should take note that one of the distinct contributions of this work is Quinn's inclusion of important Anglican contributors to interfaith dialogue. For instance, the model of local interfaith cooperation pioneered by St Philip's Anglican Church and St Philip's Center for Study and Engagement in a Multi Faith Society in Leicester (UK) is featured, as is the work of founder Alan Race. Race, of course, is known for his contributions to both local efforts, as well as to the field of interfaith studies worldwide, perhaps most notably for the typology of exclusivism, inclusivism and pluralism widely used to describe the different responses of Christians to other religious traditions. Other notable Anglican contributors to interfaith dialogue cited in the text include: Howard A. Johnson, author of Global Odyssey (1963); Kenneth Cragg, author of many works on Muslim–Christian relationships; philosopher and theologian Keith Ward, author of Religion and Community (2000), among numerous other works; Ian S. Markham; and theologian Kwok Pui Lan, who has written on the intersection between gender, interfaith, and peace-building. Also considered is the report from the Anglican Communion Network for Interfaith Concerns, ‘Generous Love’, published in 2008 as an Anglican theology of interfaith relations, and an advance in comparison with other denominational statements of the time in its nuanced assertion of a generous Christianity that prioritizes the love of one's neighbours over theological agreement.

A major advantage of this book is the wide array of theological perspectives in addition to the Anglicans included here – many more than addressed in most extant works in comparative theologies. Quinn effectively synthesizes the dominant Roman Catholic and Protestant theologians and their approaches to religious diversity from 1945 to the present day. On the Roman Catholic side, popes Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, are included, as are Karl Rahner, Hans Küng, Henri Le Saux, Bede Griffiths, Jacques Dupuis, Paul Knitter, Catherine Cornille, Francis X. Clooney; Gavin D'Costa, Paul Tillich, Lesslie S. Newbigin, and S. Mark Heim, are among the major Protestant theological contributors. Importantly, Quinn takes seriously those theological voices beyond North America and Europe, most notably in Africa and Asia. Desmond Tutu and Mercy Amba Oduyoye are two major African contributors detailed here. The emergence of distinctly Asian theologies since 1945 and the consequent shift in perspectives on religious pluralism is detailed in its own chapter, including the voices of the previously mentioned Kwok Pui Lan, and Aloysius Pieris, Raimon Panikkar, Stanley J. Samartha, C.S. Song, Peter C. Phan, and the prolific Pentecostal theologian Amos Yong, among others. Pluralists, too, find recognition in this text, including Huston Smith, Wilfred Cantwell Smith, Diana Eck, and Jeannine Hill. The expansiveness of the theological voices in Welcoming the Interfaith Future gives the reader a comprehensive look at the diversity of approaches amongst Christians today in regard to religious pluralism.

This book is published as the sixth volume of Peter Lang's Studies in Episcopal and Anglican Theology, and certainly the work does touch on major authors and approaches in this tradition. At the same time, readers from other traditions will benefit from the book's comprehensiveness and should not be put off by too many tradition-specific asides. Written from a distinctly Christian viewpoint, the author's clarity of expression and commitment to compassionate interfaith engagement will serve readers across traditions. Although the balance of the book is not on the practical side, concrete examples and specific cases are included in an effort to illustrate the connections between theological thinking and local interfaith engagement. Welcoming the Interfaith Future is a scholarly book, accessibly written, of interest to all who wish to seriously engage the challenges of religious pluralism.