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How to Do Comparative Theology, edited by Francis X. Clooney, SJ and Klaus von Stosch, New York, Fordham University Press, 2018, x + 369 pp., US$40.00 (paperback) ISBN 978 0 8232 7841 1

‘Comparative Theology’ as understood here is a new discipline, barely a few decades old, and already making its mark in academia; one of the book’s editors – Clooney – is regarded as perhaps its main founding father. Before we give Comparative Theology some context as an academic subject, let us note that the book’s title comes across as ambiguous: is it asking how Comparative Theology must be done, or is it being prescriptive, telling us what to do? The answer seems to lie in a combination of both options (though not in equal measure) across the 15 essays of this book. The Introduction informs us that the volume derives from a conference held in Paderborn, Germany, in 2014, itself part of a larger conversation in previous years. There are contributions from ‘seven women, eight men,’ across a wide age-span, with expertise in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism (3). This suffices to give a good idea of what is intended by this nascent discipline. The Introduction states that Comparative Theology is meant to be theology proper, ‘which may be briefly described as faith seeking understanding, grounded in community, cognizant of claims regarding truth, and open to the implications of study for spiritual advancement and practice’, and that it fulfills its comparative function if it is