Project description
Zoroastrian perspectives on interreligious dialogue in Mughal India
Numerous studies have been carried out to explore interreligious dialogue in Mughal India, but the involvement of Zoroastrian (or Parsi) intellectuals is often overlooked. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the Z-INK project aims to explore how the Zoroastrians engaged with Muslims, Hindus, Jains and Christians in terms of their religious thought processes. It will study the textual data of manuscript collections such as the Rivāyat collection; through the integration of theoretical approaches for studying religion in relation to other religions, it will create a typology of the process of interreligious engagement. Z-INK introduces new concepts to better understand how religious ideas were negotiated, adapted and shared in a pluralistic society.
Objective
This project investigates theological and philosophical exchange in Mughal India (1526–1858) through the understudied Zoroastrian (Parsi) corpus, offering a novel lens on interfaith interactions. While interreligious contact in this period has received scholarly attention, Zoroastrian contributions remain largely overlooked, despite their active roles as scribes, scholars, and participants in courtly and non-courtly debates. Drawing on the Rivāyat corpus and related manuscripts from multiple traditions, the project constructs a typology of religious contact, distinguishing forms of translation, intentionality, agency, and negotiation of religious otherness. It is framed by a triadic theoretical model: Stünkel’s typology of contact (e.g. polemical, dialogical, structural), Krech’s relational theory of religion, and Shaw’s concept of dynamic hybridity, operationalized through philological analysis, textual comparison, discourse study, and manuscript history. Frankfurter’s theory of religious bricolage is used as a secondary reference, highlighting the role of scribes and ritual specialists in shaping interfaith encounters. The project examines how Zoroastrian scholars engaged with Muslim, Hindu, Jain, and Christian counterparts in dialogical and textual forms, contributing to shared epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical discourses. By foregrounding interpretive translation as both a conceptual and theological act, it introduces categories such as “Mutual Translation” and “Interpretive Latency,” offering a new methodological framework for analyzing interreligious exchange in pluralistic societies.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
You need to log in or register to use this function
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
30123 Venezia
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.