Michel Younès
Born in 1973 in Lebanon, Michel Younès is general coordinator of Pluriel, Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the Catholic University of Lyon (UCLy) since September 2023, and Professor of Theology and Islamic Studies. He has led the Centre for the Study of Cultures and Religions (CECR) since 2006.
A Christian theologian of Islam, his scholarship lies at the crossroads of Islamic studies and Muslim–Christian dialogue — a commitment he also carries as the Diocese of Lyon’s episcopal delegate for relations with Muslims. In January 2026, Pope Leo XIV appointed him consultor to the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.
He holds doctorates in theology and philosophy from UCLy (2005), with a dissertation titled Révélation(s) et Parole(s). Interrogations sur le système du kalâm comme médiation entre judaïsme, christianisme et islam. He earned his habilitation to supervise research (HDR) at the École pratique des hautes études in 2020 for a study of Christian approaches to Islam, and received the Nihil Obstat in Catholic theology in 2013.
His books include Les approches chrétiennes de l’islam (Cerf, 2020), Être soi par l’autre. Comment j’ai grandi dans un contexte de diversité (2023) and Pour une théologie chrétienne des religions (2012).
Since 2020 he has also served as deputy director of UCLy’s CONFLUENCE Sciences & Humanities Research Unit. He co-directed the university diploma “Religion, Religious Freedom and Secularism” from 2013 to 2019 and convenes the seminar “Religions and Enterprises”. A fellow of the International Academy of Religious Sciences since 2010, he was awarded the Palmes Académiques in 2016.
Resources of this researcher
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publication
For a Christian Theology of Religions
- Michel Younès
Faced with contemporary religious diversity, how can Christian theology make sense of the place that other religions occupy in God’s design? Michel Younès examines the three traditional ̶...
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videos
Opening address of the Cordoba congress
- Michel Younès
On Tuesday 10 February 2026 in Cordoba, Michel Younès, general coordinator of Pluriel and dean of the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University of Lyon (UCLy), delivered the opening address of...
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publication
Islam and Muslims. Doctrines, Schools of Thought, and Current Trends
- Michel Younès
Publication date: April 16, 2026. Islam, as a historical, religious, and civilizational reality, is difficult to define. It can be perceived as a form of political governance, an expression of fait...
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videos
Christian Thought, Muslim Thought and Societal Issues: Launch of the “Theologies in Dialogue” Chair
- Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi
- Michel Younès
On Wednesday, September 25, 2024, this inaugural conference presents a new chair entitled “Theologies in Dialogue” at the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University of Lyon. The spe...
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publication
Revival and Dynamics of Islamic Studies in Europe
- Michel Younès
- Emmanuel Pisani
- Cédric Baylocq
- Zohra Aziadé Zemirli
- Michele Brignone
- Haoues Seniguer
“In a troubled international context where Islam is sometimes defined as an ideological marker of many conflicts, academic research drawing on history, sociology, and political science has mu...
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publication
Islamochristiana Journal 49 (2024): “Maurice Borrmans and Mohamed Talbi: From Friendship to Rupture”
- David Marshall
- Diego Sarrió Cucarella
- Rémi Caucanas
- Michel Younès
- Geneviève Gobillot
- Florence Javel
- Yosra Garmi
- Tobias Specker
The title of this issue, “Maurice Borrmans and Mohamed Talbi: From Friendship to Rupture,” was suggested to us by a collection of articles that highlight different aspects of the relati...
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videos
Online Symposium: Islamic Origins & Christian Theological Engagement with Islam
- Diego Sarrió Cucarella
- Gabriel Said Reynolds
- Michel Younès
- David Marshall
Panelists David Marshall, University of Bern (Moderator), Guest Editor of Islamochristiana Martin Accad, Arab Baptist Theological Seminary Daniel Brown, ISRME Diego Sarrio Cucarella, PISAI Sandra K...
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videos
Opening speech of the fourth congress in Abu Dhabi, Michel Younès
- Michel Younès
At the opening of the fourth congress of the University Platform for Research on Islam Pluriel, which celebrates its tenth anniversary, Michel Younès expressed his pride in the advances made in ter...
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publication
Religions put to the test by freedom of expression
- Michel Younès
- Mohamed-Ali Mostfa
- Malek Chaïeb
“In the republican context, freedom of expression involves all the players in society and mobilises a wide range of intellectual resources. What then are the conditions that foster it while r...
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publication
Islam & Otherness. Proceedings of the Pluriel congress in Beirut
- Mohamed-Ali Mostfa
- Michel Younès
- Roula Talhouk
Edited by Michel Younès, Ali Mostfa and Roula Talhouk “In a contemporary context marked by a growing tendency to lock oneself into oppositional logics, reflection on otherness in Islam opens ...
Resources related to
Theology of Religions
article
Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas and the Pluriel working group on AI-assisted interreligious dialogue
- Wael Saleh
Text by Wael Saleh, researcher at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and member of the Pluriel coordination committee. The simultaneous appearance of Leo XIV's encyclical Magnifica Human...
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The Recognition of a Hummingbird. Essays on Interreligious Dialogue and Missionary Work (2007-2025)
- Rémi Caucanas
Published in May 2026 by PISAI (Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Rome), this collection brings together the essays of Rémi Caucanas on interreligious dialogue and missionary wor...
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From Lavigerie to PISAI: The Institutional History of the Missionaries of Africa’s Engagement with Islam
Delivered on 21 May 2026 at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI) in Rome, this lecture opens the series of conferences marking the institute's centenary (1926-2026). Fr. ...
publication
For a Christian Theology of Religions
- Michel Younès
Faced with contemporary religious diversity, how can Christian theology make sense of the place that other religions occupy in God’s design? Michel Younès examines the three traditional ̶...
publication
Intercultural Theology
- Jean Patrick Nkolo Fanga
Because every theology is culturally situated, Christian theology is inevitably multicultural. Yet one step remains to be taken: to become intercultural. Crossing languages, contexts, origins, ages...
article
Bells and Muezzin in Harmony: Dialogue with Islam as a Spiritual Responsibility
- Timo Güzelmansur
Article by Timo Güzelmansur published under the title Glocken und Muezzin im Einklang. Der Dialog mit dem Islam als geistliche Verantwortung in Herder Korrespondenz (special issue devoted to Pope L...
publication
Maurice Borrmans and the Crisis of Christian-Muslim Dialogue. Islamic studies in Question?
- Florence Javel
In 2025-2026, we mark the sixtieth anniversary of the Second Vatican Council and of the declaration Nostra aetate (28 October 1965). One century earlier, in October 1925, Maurice Borrmans was born ...
videos
Opening address of the Cordoba congress
- Michel Younès
On Tuesday 10 February 2026 in Cordoba, Michel Younès, general coordinator of Pluriel and dean of the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University of Lyon (UCLy), delivered the opening address of...