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Some have urged that it be replaced by the more neutral terms particularism or restrictivism. (Netland 2001, 46; Krkkinen 2003, 80-1) This article retains the common term because it is widespread and many have adopted the label for their own theory of religious diversity. Let's compare beliefs, symbols, gods, and books of the top religions. The next section describes some of these benefits. (Mawson 2005), Historically, Buddhist thought about other religions has almost never been pluralistic. (Sometimes, however, Hick makes the weaker claim that were unable to pick any religion as best at effecting this transformation.) Legenhausen, Hajj Muhammad [Gary Carl]. The tradition now called Hinduism is and always has been very internally diverse. Legenhausen, Hajj Muhammad [Gary Carl] Why I am not a Traditionalist. 2002. The truth is out there and here are the six fundamental differences you should know about. 1 By comparison, just three-in-ten Americans who are less religious gather as frequently with their extended families. Heim suggests that we should instead assume that other religions both pursue and achieve real and distinct religious salvations (goals or ends). Another view expressed by some couples was that the problem was not with the interchurch couples themselves, but with the fact that the various churches were divided. For example, Baptist, African Methodist Episcopal, Catholic, and Seventh-day Adventist are all Christian denominations. It is also allowed that each major religion really does deliver the cure it claims to (for example, salvation and heaven, Nirvana, Moksha), and is entitled to operate by its own moral and epistemic values. While people use many different paths to find God or a higher power, research has shown that those who are more religious or spiritual and use their spirituality to cope with challenges in life experience many benefits to their health and well-being. It is not hard to find religions or religious cults which would not plausibly be thought of as good in the way(s) that a pluralist has in mind. Heim notes that pluralists like Hick insist on one true goal or salvation which is achieved by all the equally valuable religions, a goal which is proposed by the pluralist and which differs from those proposed by most of those religions. His critics, he argues, are merely asserting without reason that there cannot be a transcategorial reality. (Dupuis 2001, 170-9; Neuner and Dupuis 2001, 350-1). This sort of pluralism, following Gunon and Schuon, has been championed by Iranian philosopher Seyyed Hossein Nasr (b. Many religious claims will be logically incompatible with the accepted diagnosis, and many religious practices will be useless or counter-productive when it comes to getting what one believes to be the cure. Moreover, some influential modern Hindu leaders have adopted a complicated rhetoric of universal religion, which often assumes some sort of religious pluralism. Nineteenth century popes condemned Enlightenment-inspired theories of religion pluralism about truth and salvation, then called indifferentism, it being, allegedly, indifferent which major religion one chose, since all were of equal value. Thurtell/Getty Images Summary. Recent Islamic thinkers have independently come to conclusions parallel to those of Rahner, while critiquing various pluralist theories as entailing the sin of unbelief (kufr), the rejection of Islam. (Legenhausen 2002). In interviews with interchurch individuals, many shared how early in their marriage they challenged their partners beliefs or practices. This view was affirmed by Pope Pius X (r. 1846-78) in his Singulari Quadam (1854): outside the Apostolic Roman Church no one can be savedOn the other handthose who live in ignorance of the true religion, if such ignorance be invincible, are not subject to any guilt in this matter before the eyes of the Lord. (Neuner and Dupuis 2001, 311). One asserts not merely the possibility, but the actuality of salvation for those who are inculpably ignorant of the gospel but who seek God and try to follow his will as expressed through their own conscience. (Dupuis 2001, 127-9) Whether these non-Catholics are thought to be in the church by a non-standard means, or whether they are said to be not in the church in reality but only in desire, it was held that they were saved by Gods grace. If the core is veridical experiences, all religions will enable ways to perceive whatever the objects of religious experience are. It would seem that that, for example, a Christian to accept this ultimist pluralism, she will have to reinterpret what many Christians will regard as a core commitment, namely, that the ultimate reality is personal. The traditional Islamic perspective is that while in one sense Islam was initiated by Muhammad (570-632 CE), Islam in the sense of submission to God was taught by all prior prophets, and so their followers were truly Muslims, that is, truly submitted to God. (Legenhausen 2006, 2009). Thus Christians, for example, imagine that in prayer they interact with the ultimate, a monotheistic god, but in fact they interact with angels, and perhaps different Christians with different angels. Webinar 3: Applications for Elementary Educators Are you looking for practical suggestions on how to explore religious diversity with elementary students? 2-4; Meeker 2003), Hicks identist religious pluralism has been objected to as thoroughly as any recent theory in philosophy. The traveler goes with the hope of discovering something new and exciting. Couples often find, to their surprise, that religious differences have the potential to enrich one another and their relationship. At the same time, they argued that many people who are outside the one church cannot be blamed for this, and so will not be condemned by God. After the fight, Nicole realized that she needed to back off. In principle, it would seem that an exclusivist or inclusivist may have all or most of the good qualities, and one who accepts a theory of religious pluralism may have all or most of the bad qualities. (Dupuis 2001; Burton 2010), Historically, Jewish intellectuals have usually adopted an inclusivist rather than an exclusivist view about other religions. Nor can he be fruitful and multiply while living as a celibate Buddhist monk. Legenhausen, Hajj Muhammad [Gary Carl]. It is only modern people who are blinded by the misunderstanding that science reveals all, who have forgotten it. The Lines Blur If you feel these definitions get blurry and cross into each other's territory, you're not alone. And how can the ultimist pluralist demand such changes? (Hick 1982 ch. Lesson Quiz Course 194 views What is Mythology? It may also be helpful to explore how each of you came to adopt your beliefs or practices, which will be addressed in the next unit. For example, all non-Christians go to hell, or all non-Buddhists fail to gain Nirvana, or to make progress towards it. But then when youve got somebody on the other side saying, Why do you believe that? Well, no ones ever asked you that question before. As a result, he became convinced that basically the same thing was going on with these others religious followers as with Christians, namely, people responding in culturally conditioned but transformative ways to one and the same Real or Ultimate Reality. It is a matter of dispute whether certain famous Sufi Muslims such as Rumi (1207-73) and Ibn Arabi (1165-1240) have held to some form of religious pluralism. In this article exclusivism about religious diversity denies any form of pluralism; it denies that all religions, or all major ones, are the same in some important respect. 2013, 333-40) Theologically liberal Protestants most often hold on to some form of religious pluralism. However, his theory seems to depend crucially on the existence of many human problems, each of which may be solved by participation in some religion or other. When exploring each others faith, both individuals will ideally adopt the spirit of a traveler who ventures to a different land to witness the customs and beliefs of a different culture. In his earlier writings, monotheistic concerns seem important. (Hick 2011), A less developed identist pluralism is explored by Peter Byrne. Religious Diversity and Religious Tolerance 7. However, if properly managed, religious differences can become a catalyst for growth. (Krkkinen 2003, 197-204, 309-17). . ), which argues that previous versions of Buddhist teaching were mere expedient means, that is, non-truths taught because in his great wisdom, the Buddha knew that at its then immature stage, humanity would be aided only by those teachings. How could a perfect being fail to be available to all people in all the religions? What sense, for instance, would it make for a Zen Buddhist to undergo the Catholic rites of confession and penance? In time, however, individuals become more open to learning about their partners church as they become more familiar with it, and their negative misconceptions are proven to be untrue. The many Second, the claim that meaningfulness requires the possibility of empirical verification has little to recommend it, and is self-refuting (that is, the claim itself is not empirically verifiable). Trouble-shooting Conflict over Religious Differences. Another naive exclusivist view which is rejected by most theorists is that all who are not full-fledged members of the best religion fail to get the cure. Why should I bother to do any of this, if you think that no matter what, that Im wrong because Im Catholic?. religious symbolism and iconography, respectively, the basic and often complex artistic forms and gestures used as a kind of key to convey religious concepts and the visual, auditory, and kinetic representations of religious ideas and events. Which religion makes the most sense? Hinduism., de Cea, Abraham Vlez. On this view, all the religions are right to the same degree, that is, all versions of monotheism (or perhaps, ethical monotheisms, or Abrahamic monotheisms). While there have been Buddhist teachers and movements who have been exclusivists, in general Buddhism has been inclusivist. Ron stated that he would have responded better if Nicole had asked him to attend church with her rather than giving him an ultimatum. (Dupuis 2001, 86-9), However, what about Jews, pagans, unbaptized babies, or people who never have a chance to hear the Christian message? A difficulty for any pluralist theory is how to restrict the group of equally good religions without losing the appearance of being all-accepting or wholly non-judgmental. (Hick 1995, ch. This can lead to some confusion as to what the differences really are between the couple. Unfortunately, this approach can lead to conflict in the relationship, leaving one or both partners feeling angry or invalidated. Rather, he only argues for the equality of what he calls post-axial religions major religious traditions which have arisen since around 800 B.C.E. Numerous groups of people have their own mythology. At the same time, it suggests that couples that can successfully work through their differences can model the ideals of ecumenism to the larger faith community. A common strategy here is to simply ignore disreputable religious traditions, only discussing the prestigious ones. Many people associate any sort of pluralist theory of religious diversity with a number of arguably good qualities. 6). Facts and Theories of Religious Diversity, Abe, Masao. Still other Catholic theologians have found these moves to be positive but not nearly different enough from the more pessimistic sort of exclusivism. It has been typical also for Buddhist thinkers to hold that at best, the same is true of other religious traditions. Some theorized, for instance, that a baptism of blood, that is, martyrdom, would be enough to save unbaptized catechumens. Otherwise, religious differences can be a barrier in the relationship. Thus, if central Christian teachings are true, then so is at least one central teaching of these two rival religions. A theory of religious pluralism says that all religions of some kind are the same in some valuable respect(s). But these monotheists and cosmos-worshipers each take their object to be ultimate, and would deny the existence of any further back entity or non-entity, that is, of Creativity. Finally, Cobb and Griffin emphasize that this approach does not endorse any unreasonable form of relativism and, as such, allows one to remain distinctively Christian or Buddhist and so forth. This is because they cannot be empirically verified, that is, their truth or falsity is not known by way of observational evidence. For example, a religious group may function only to satisfy the desires of its founder, discourage the worship of God, encourage the sexual abuse of children, or lead to the damnation of its members. Sometimes God and Cosmos are described as aspects of Creativity. Others find it excessive that Smith accepts other traditional doctrines, such as that Platos Forms are not only real but alive, that in dreaming the subtle body leaves the body and roams free in the intermediate realm, belief in siddhis (supernatural powers gained by meditation), possession by spirits, psychic phenomena, and so on. Inclusivism for some authors just means a friendlier or more open-minded exclusivism. (Smith 2003, 2012). This seems incompatible with Heims agnosticism about which, if any, of the diagnosed problems is the fundamental one. Appropriating Immanuel Kants distinction between phenomena, how things appear, and noumena, things in themselves, Hick postulated that the Real is ineffable and is not directly experienced by anyone. Four religions Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism account for over 77% of the world's population, and 92% of the world either follows one of those four religions or identifies as nonreligious, [10] meaning that the remaining 9,000+ faiths account for only 8% of the population combined. (Morales 2008), Within the pluralistic mainstream of Hinduism, a popular slogan is that all religions are true, but this may be an expression of almost any sort of positive religious pluralism. (Dupuis 2000, 165-170) A key area of disagreement is whether or not these imply that a person may be saved by means of their participation in some other religion. A second myth is the belief that religious differences are inherently problematic. My God, to me, isnt any different than her God in the Catholic Church., Some interchurch couples believe that it is important to focus more on each persons spiritual relationship with God and less on the differences between the churches. It offers a fall from primordial spirituality into modern spiritual poverty, cured by adopting the outlook sketched above. This was a polemic against non-Mahayana versions of Buddhist dharma (teaching). al. For example, fewer Asian Americans say religion is very important in their lives (39% of U.S. Asians vs. 58% of all U.S. adults), while more say religion is either not too important or not at all important to them (30% of U.S. Asians vs. 16% of the general public). All religions, then, are equal in that they are responses to the ineffable Ultimate Reality which equally wellor for all we can tell equally wellbring about an ethical improvement in humans, away from self-centeredness and towards other humans and the Ultimate Reality. After each of you have composed your lists, share them with one another. For example, some people may be more likely to have spiritual experiences in churches or . Many have objected that Hicks pluralism is not merely a theory about religions, but is itself a competitor in the field, offering a diagnosis and cure which disagrees with those of the world religions. But others teach that the ultimate reality is a perfect self, a being capable of knowledge, will, and intentional action. Thus, in experiencing what they call Emptiness or the Dharmakaya (truth body), Mahayana Buddhists really do perceive what Cobb calls Creativity (or Being Itself), as do Advaita Vedanta Hindus when they perceive Nirguna Brahman (Brahman without qualities). For example, Jessica experienced a strong sense of loneliness when her partner did not attend church with her on Christmas because she associated Christmas as a time of family togetherness growing up. U. S. A. It is arguably the doctrinal and philosophical aspects of a religion which are foundational, in that the other aspects can only be understood in light of them. Thus, Christian exclusivists usually allow that those who die as babies, the severely mentally handicapped, or friends of God who lived before Christian times may avoid hell and attain heaven despite their not being fully-fledged, believing and practicing Christians. The Potential Benefits of Having Religious Differences, Couples who explored their religious differences often found that that the experience strengthened their own spirituality. The latter two classes of beings, but not the first, may be described as personal.. John Cobbs Whiteheadian Complementary Pluralism., Hasker, William. All Christians believe that some were saved before Christianity, through Judaism. Thus, for example, the earliest Buddhist and Christian sources prominently feature staunch criticisms of various rival teachings and practices as, respectively, false and useless or harmful. (Cohn-Sherbok 2005). Read a brief summary of this topic. But some had always held on to theories about ways into the church other than water baptism, and since the European discovery of the New World it had become clear that the gospel had not been preached to the whole world, and many held that such pagans were non-culpably ignorant of the gospel. (1995, 2004) All the major religions are equal in that they (1) refer to and facilitate cognitive contact with a single, transcendent reality, (2) each offers a similarly moral- and eternal-oriented cure, and (3) each includes revisable and incomplete accounts of this transcendent reality. Also, recognize that for many people, religious traditions are intertwined with family traditions. With truth, the problem is that it is hard to see how the core claims of the religions could all be true. If you are having conflict over religious differences, you may need to slow things down and make sure you and your partner are using effective communication skills described in the first unit. Unfortunately, human beings have a tendency to mistrust differences, and can have a negative view toward people with different beliefs. Such an outlook, often called the perennial philosophy or traditionalism, owes much to nineteenth and twentieth century occult literature, and to neo-Platonism and its early modern revivals. For instance, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an established Christian sect, also uses the Book of Mormon . Stenmark views it as most similar to identist pluralism (see 2e below). They hope that each religion can, while remaining distinct, begin to construct global theologies, influenced by the truths and values of other religions. 1950) proposes what he calls a true religious pluralism, which is nonetheless best understood as a version of inclusivism, as it allows its proponent to maintain the superiority of her own religion. Separately, each of you should write a list of the five most important religious or spiritual beliefs that you have in common with your partner. When Chris and Danielle discussed religious topics, Danielle felt that Chris was putting her down bychallenging her beliefs and practices. All such religious mystics really perceive a personal, supreme God, understood panentheistically, as being in the cosmos, akin to how a soul is in a body. 1919) In his view, the common core of religions is a tiered worldview. Thus, famously, in a papal bull of 1302, called by its first words Unam Sanctam (that is, One Holy), Pope Boniface VIII (r. 1294-1303) declared that outside the Roman Catholic church, there is neither salvation nor remission of sins, and it is altogether necessary to salvation for every human creature to be subject to the pope. how important these differences of religious belief might really be. After Ron refused to go to church on a family vacation with Nicoles parents, the couple had a big fight upon returning home. Religious Diversity and Apologetics 6. Different Christian groups have variations among their sacred texts. Some forms of naive pluralism suppose that all religions will turn out to be complementary. In modern times, it tries to equalize other religions in the same ways it equalizes the apparently contrary claims and practices internal to it. (Legenhausen 2009), The term religious pluralism is almost always used for a theory asserting positive value for many or most religions.

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