Chapter 2 Religious diversity and pluralism Diversity of

Chapter 2: Religious diversity and pluralism

Diversity of religions Ø Religious views in focus ØHinduism ØBuddhism ØJudaism ØChristianity ØIslam

Approaches to religious diversity Ø Atheism Ø Agnosticism Ø Religious relativism Ø Religious pluralism Ø Religious inclusivism Ø Religious exclusivism

Religious exclusivism Ø Explanation: one world religion is correct and all others are mistaken; salvation (or nirvana, or moksha, etc. ) is found only through this one religion. (p. 26)

Religious inclusivism Ø Explanation: only one world religion is fully correct, but other world religions participate in or partially reveal some of the truth of the one correct religion; it is possible, however, to obtain salvation (or nirvana, or moksha, etc. ) through other religions. (p. 26)

Religious pluralism Ø Explanation: ultimately all world religions are correct, each offering a different path and partial perspective vis-à-vis the one Ultimate Reality. (p. 26) Ø The Blind Men and the Elephant parable. (p. 31)

Religious relativism Ø Explanation: while each religion can be regarded as “true” and “effective” for its adherents, there is no objective or tradition -transcending sense in which we can speak of religious truth. (p. 26)

Evaluating religious systems Ø Criteria ØLogical consistency ØCoherence of overall system ØConsistency with knowledge in other fields ØReasonable answers to fundamental questions ØExistential plausibility

Religious tolerance Ø Religious tolerance is best understood as recognizing and respecting the religious beliefs and practices of others (p. 41) ØA paradigm shift from rejecting to understanding Ø Tolerance doesn’t affirm that everyone is right, but does realize that everyone is significant

Questions for discussion Which of the six approaches to religious diversity do you find most persuasive, and why? Can one hold to exclusivism or inclusivism and also be religiously tolerant? What would tolerance mean in these cases? Do you believe that it is possible to compare rival religious systems in such a way that one can objectively assess their plausibility? (Explain your answer. )