<div>What is unity and how does it serve as a goal for ecumenical dialogue? How can churches, ecumenical organizations, ministers, and theologians effectively approach this goal in the twenty-first century? <I>Sustaining the Hope for Unity </I>offers a methodological reflection on these questions using insights of contemporary critical theory.<BR><BR> With particular attention to the work of Jürgen Habermas, the book develops a framework for exchanging religious narratives in a postmodern context marked by pluralism and ambiguity. Using this framework to address questions that have emerged out of the life of the World Council of Churches, <I>Sustaining the Hope for Unity</I> argues that unity must be imagined eschatologically in order to achieve inclusive and non-coercive dialogue between diverse Christian communities. Looking ahead to ecumenism in the twenty-first century, it makes a case for the role of the WCC as a public space for the exchange of religious narratives.</div>