Within the field of

comparative religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yie ...

, the Faculty for Comparative Study of Religions and Humanism (FVG), located in Wilrijk,

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

(

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

), is an independent Faculty founded in 1980 and recognized in Belgium by Royal Decree (dated 20 June 1980). Its constitution runs as follows: "The objective of the Association is to launch, to organize and to manage at International University Level the comparative study of religions. All present and future members declare solemnly that the FVG will not and never be submitted to any doctrinal system. The most absolute tolerance will bind and lead for all relations between members and all those concerned with the Faculty.

History

On 15 December 2009, a Royal Decree was signed concerning the new titles of the diplomas. These are a Basic diploma (after 3 years) and an Advanced diploma (after 4 years). The Faculty is also recognized by the Ministry of Social Affairs (10.08.1993) with reference to the Royal Decree of 18 June 1969) as an Educational institution of the third level. In February 2006, a partnership was signed with the Free University Brussels (VUB). Besides this partnership an agreement was also signed concerning academic knowhow, integration of the library, student follow up, etc. On behalf of the VUB rector B. Van Camp signed and on behalf of the FVG rector Chr. Vonck. Besides this partnership the FVG keeps bilateral agreements with many universities all over the world, including

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Library

The campus library contains about 15,000 books on Eastern and Western religions, comparative study of religions and philosophy. The sections on

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

and

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

are visited by international scholars.

Publications

Annually, the FVG publishes ''Acta Comparanda''. This is a journal with academic articles and reviews about the new published books on religion, comparative religion and associated sciences.

Jainism

On June 27, 2007, the World Council for Jain Academies (WCJA) Department of Jain Studies was inaugurated by Dr. Natubhai Shah and minister

Kathleen Van Brempt Kathleen Van Brempt (; born 18 November 1969 in Wilrijk), is a Belgian social-democratic politician and member of Vooruit. She currently serves as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) as part of the Party of European Socialists and is leader o ...

Kierkegaard

In 1989, the Danish Ministry of Education donated the FVG a nice collection of books by and on

Søren Kierkegaard Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( , , ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical texts on ...

. A little bit later the famous Kierkegaard scholar and publisher of 'The International Kierkegaard Newsletter' Dr. Julia Watkin visited the faculty and met Belgian philosophers from the Free University of Brussels (VUB) and the Roman Catholic University of Louvain (KUL). In 1991, Dr. J. Taels (UA) delivered several lectures at the FVG, and as a result the 'Working Group Kierkegaard' was established. Every last Friday of the month this group gathers in order to discuss the literature of this philosopher.

Information

''Faculteit voor Vergelijkende Godsdienstwetenschappen-FVG'' in: The World of Learning, London

References

External links

Official site of the Faculty for the Comparative Study of Religions.Official site of the Jain Academy
{{Authority control Vrije Universiteit Brussel