Romain Louge
Born in 1985 in France, Romain Louge is a French Catholic priest, administrator of the Saint-Eugène d’Endoume parish in Marseille and holder of a doctorate in theology from the Catholic University of Lyon. A specialist in Christian-Muslim relations and Arabic theology, his research examines the influence of Christian theology on the development of the concept of tawḥīd in nascent kalām.
After training as an engineer at the ENSEA in Cergy, Romain Louge entered the seminary in 2008. He earned a canonical bachelor’s degree from the Catholic University of Lyon in 2014, then specialised in Arabic and Islamic studies. He studied Arabic at the POLIS Institute in Jerusalem (2014-2015) before obtaining a canonical licentiate from the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI) in Rome in 2017.
Ordained a priest in 2015, he has carried out various ministries in the Archdiocese of Marseille while pursuing his research. On 17 March 2025, he defended his doctoral thesis at the Catholic University of Lyon, “L’apologétique arabe chrétienne à l’épreuve du kalām naissant” (Christian Arabic apologetics tested by nascent kalām), a study of the emergence of the concept of the Logos in early Arabic theology and of the influence of Christian theology on the development of tawḥīd in early kalām.
Romain Louge has presented his work at several international conferences, including the Symposium Syriacum in Paris (2022), the International Quranic Studies Association congress in San Antonio (2023), the Pluriel congress “Islam and Fraternity” in Abu Dhabi (2024) and the study day “The Emergence of Islam in a Christian Context” in Lyon (2024). He has also published translations and analyses of contemporary Arabic works on authority in Islam and takfīr.
Alongside his research, he teaches an introduction to Islam at the Catholic University of Lyon and lectures on Islam at the Catholic Institute of the Mediterranean in Marseille.
Resources of this researcher
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article
The Influence of Christian Theology on the Development of Tawḥīd in Early Kalām
- Romain Louge
Abstract How did Christian theology, in turn, help shape the Muslim doctrine of divine oneness? Fr Romain Louge shows how the first Muslim theologians, the Muʿtazila in particular, developed their ...
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videos
For a dialogical theological fraternity: a rereading of the Document on Human Fraternity in light of the earliest Arabic theological writings
- Romain Louge
From the 8th century onwards, the first theological writings were composed in Arabic, either in Christian communities or in Muslim communities. This communication aims, through the study of these e...
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article
The Apparition of the Concept of Person in the Beginning of Arabic Theology
- Romain Louge
Abstract How did the concept of “person”, central to Trinitarian theology, find its words in the emerging Arabic language? In this chapter, Fr Romain Louge studies the appearance of thi...
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Muslim-Christian Dialogue
article
Kenneth Cragg and the Event of the Qur’an
- Timo Güzelmansur
Article by Timo Güzelmansur published under the title Kenneth Cragg und das Ereignis des Koran on the theological portal feinschwarz.net (12 June 2026, open access). Timo Güzelmansur presents the A...
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...
publication
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...
videos
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. ...
videos
Interreligious Dialogue and Ethnic Nationalisms in the Balkans
At the invitation of PISAI (Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Rome) and Georgetown University, Ahmet Alibašić, professor of Islamic civilization at the Faculty of Islamic Studies...
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...
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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...