Interreligious Dialogue in a Fragmented World: Evidence for Coexistence and Convergence Licia Paglione Sophia University Institute Bernhard Callebaut Sophia University Institute Abstract: In today’s fragmented and globalized world, the economy and technology are both in need of an orientative spiritual base. Philoso- pher Karl Jaspers’s account of the axial age as giving rise to distinct regional religious identities is now giving way to a more local pluralism. Instead of a “clash of civilizations,” a certain dialogical existence offers the opportunity for both distinct identity and its apparent opposite, inte- gration. Te Focolare Movement’s experience of interreligious dialogue serves as an example for understanding this phenomenon conceptually through the sociological/anthropological lens of gift, where identity is dependent on the establishment of gratuitous relationships. Religious identity is reinforced precisely through openness to diversity, suggesting a possible ushering in of a new “axial age” in which religions converge while simultaneously remaining distinct, thereby fostering a more inte- gral humanity. I ntroduction In 1949, the German philosopher Karl Jaspers (1883-1969) wrote: “A total metamorphosis of history has taken place. Te essential fact is: there is no longer anything outside. Te world is closed. Te unity of the earth has arrived. New perils and new opportunities are revealed. All the crucial problems have become world problems.” 1 Te American sociologist Richard Madsen also emphasizes, correctly in our opinion, that in the midst of the vol- umes of writings on “globalization” spanning the last sixty years there has been little systematic study of a possible spiritual basis for global interdependence between power and wealth. 2 More than ever, we are confronted with a plurality of religions. In the global social context, fragmentation seems to dominate when trying to understand the situation of traditional religions. In the view of many, this results in religions seemingly having significantly less impact on society than in the past. In this situation of perceived weakness, envisioning religions as able to offer a consistent spiritu- 1. K. Jaspers, Te Origin and Goal of History (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953), 127. 2. Richard Madsen, “Te Future of Transcendence: A Sociological Agenda,” in Robert N. Bellah and Hans Joas, eds., Te Axial Age and Its Consequences, Cambridge MA - London: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2012), 430–446, 430. As partners in the development of his reasoning, the author has mainly Jaspers, Bellah and Charles Taylor. Claritas: Journal of Dialogue and Culture, Vol. 9, No. 1 (2020) 36–45 © 2020 CLARITAS | Journal of Dialogue & Culture | Vol. 9, No. 1 (2020) 36