Religious pluralism is a loosely defined expression concerning acceptance of different
religions, and is used in a number of related ways:
- As the name of the worldview according to which one's religion is not the sole and exclusive source of truth, and thus that at least some truths and true values exist in other religions.
- As acceptance of the concept that two or more religions with mutually exclusive truth claims are equally valid. This posture often emphasizes religion's common aspects.
- Sometimes as a synonym for ecumenism, i.e., the promotion of some level of unity, co-operation, and improved understanding between different religions or different denominations within a single religion.
Definition and scope
Religious pluralism, to paraphrase the title of a recent academic work, goes beyond mere toleration. Chris Beneke, in
Beyond Toleration: The Religious Origins of American Pluralism, explains the difference between religious tolerance and religious pluralism by pointing to the situation in the late 18th century
United States. By the 1730s, in most colonies religious minorities had obtained what contemporaries called
religious toleration:
[Beneke 2006: 6.] "The policy of toleration relieved religious minorities of some physical punishments and some financial burdens, but it did not make them free from the indignities of prejudice and exclusion. Nor did it make them equal. Those 'tolerated' could still be barred from civil offices, military positions, and university posts."
In short, religious toleration is only the absence of
religious persecution, and does not necessarily preclude
religious discrimination. However, in the following decades something extraordinary happened in the
Thirteen Colonies, at least if one views the events from "a late eighteenth-century perspective."
[Beneke 2006: 5.] Gradually the colonial governments expanded the policy of religious toleration, but then, between the 1760s and the 1780s, they replaced it with "something that is usually called
religious liberty."
Interfaith dialogue
Religious pluralism is sometimes used as a synonym for
interfaith dialogue. Interfaith dialogue refers to dialogue between members of different religions for the goal of reducing conflicts between their
religions and to achieve agreed upon mutually desirable goals. Inter-religious dialogue is difficult if the partners adopt a position of
particularism, i.e. if they only care about the concerns of their own group, but is favored by the opposite attitude of
universalism, where care is taken for the concerns of others. Interfaith dialogue is easier if a religion's adherents have some form of
inclusivism, the belief that people in other religions may also have a way to
salvation, even though the fullness of salvation can be achieved only in one’s own religion. Conversely, believers with an
exclusivist mindset will rather tend to
proselytize followers of other religions, than seek an open-ended dialogue with them.
Conditions for the existence of religious pluralism
Freedom of religion encompasses all religions acting within the law in a particular region, whether or not an individual religion accepts that other religions are legitimate or that freedom of religious choice and religious plurality in general are good things.
Exclusivist religions teach that theirs is the only way to salvation and to religious truth, and some of them would even argue that it is necessary to suppress the falsehoods taught by other religions. Some
Protestant sects argue fiercely against
Roman Catholicism, and
fundamentalist Christians of all kinds teach that religious practices like those of
paganism and
witchcraft are pernicious. This was a common historical attitude prior to the
Enlightenment, and has appeared as governmental policy into the present day under systems like
Afghanistan's Taliban regime, which destroyed the ancient
Buddhas of Bamyan.
Many religious believers believe that religious pluralism should entail not competition but cooperation, and argue that societal and theological change is necessary to overcome religious differences between different
religions, and denominational conflicts within the same religion. For most religious traditions, this attitude is essentially based on a non-literal view of one's religious traditions, hence allowing for respect to be engendered between different traditions on fundamental principles rather than more marginal issues. It is perhaps summarized as an attitude which rejects focus on immaterial differences, and instead gives respect to those beliefs held in common.
Giving one religion or denomination special rights that are denied to others can weaken religious pluralism. This situation obtains in certain European countries, where
Roman Catholicism or regional forms of
Protestantism have special status. For example see the entries on the
Lateran Treaty and
Church of EnglandRelativism, the belief that all religions are equal in their value and that none of the religions gives access to absolute truth, is an extreme form of
inclusivism. Likewise,
syncretism, the attempt to take over creeds of practices from other religions or even to blend practices or creeds from different religions into one new faith is an extreme form of inter-religious dialogue.
Syncretism must not be confused with
ecumenism, the attempt to bring closer and eventually reunite different denominations of one religion that have a common origin but were separated by a
schism.
The existence of religious pluralism depends on the existence of freedom of religion.
Freedom of religion exists when different religions of a particular region possess the same rights of worship and public expression. Freedom of religion is restrained in many Islamic countries, such as in
Saudi Arabia, where the public practice of religions other than
Islam is forbidden, in
Iran, where the
Baha'is have no legal rights and are persecuted, and in the
Palestinian Authority, where
Arab Christians report they are frequent victims of religious
persecution by Muslims.
Religious freedom did not exist at all in many
Communist countries such as
Albania and the Stalinist
Soviet Union, where the state prevented the public expression of religious belief and even persecuted some or all religions. This situation persists still today in
North Korea, and to some extent in
China and
Vietnam.
History of religious pluralism
Cultural and religious pluralism has a long history and development that reaches from antiquity to contemporary trends in
post-modernity.
Inter-religious pluralism
Bahá'í views
Bahá'u'lláh, founder of
Bahá'í Faith, urged the elimination of religious intolerance. He taught that God is one, and has manifested himself to humanity through several historic messengers. Bahá'u'lláh taught that Bahá'ís must associate with peoples of all religions, showing the love of God in relations with them, whether this is reciprocated or not.
Bahá'í's refer to the concept of
Progressive revelation, which means that God's will is revealed to mankind progressively as mankind matures and is better able to comprehend the purpose of God in creating humanity. In this view, God's word is revealed through a series of messengers:
Abraham,
Krishna,
Moses,
Buddha,
Jesus,
Mohammed, and Bahá'u'lláh (the founder of the
Bahá'í Faith) among them. In the
Kitáb-i-Íqán (
Book of Certitude), Bahá'u'lláh explains that messengers of God have a twofold station, one of divinity and one of an individual. According to Bahá'í writings, there will not be another messenger for many hundreds of years. There is also a respect for the religious traditions of the native peoples of the planet who may have little other than oral traditions as a record of their religious figures.
Buddhist views
Buddha taught that the means for attaining permanent
liberation from suffering is not taught outside of Buddhadharma. Buddha explained in the
Brahmajala Sutta:
Bhikkus, there are countless philosophies, doctrines, and theories in this world. People criticize each other and argue endlessly over their theories. According to my investigation, there are sixty-two main theories which underlie the thousands of philosophies and religions current in our world. Looked at from the Way of Enlightenment and Emancipation, all sixty-two of these theories contain errors and create obstacles… A good fisherman places his net in the water and catches all the shrimp and fish he can. As he watches the creatures try to leap out of the net, he tells them, ‘No matter how high you jump, you will only land in the net again.’ He is correct. The thousands of beliefs flourishing at present can all be found in the net of these sixty-two theories. Bhikkus, don’t fall into that bewitching net. You will only waste time and lose your chance to practice the Way of Enlightenment.
The earliest reference to Buddhist views on religious pluralism in a political sense is found in the
Edicts of Emperor Ashoka:
"All religions should reside everywhere, for all of them desire self-control and purity of heart." Rock Edict Nb7 (S. Dhammika)
"Contact (between religions) is good. One should listen to and respect the doctrines professed by others. Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, desires that all should be well-learned in the good doctrines of other religions." Rock Edict Nb12 (S. Dhammika)
When asked, “Don’t all religions teach the same thing? Is it possible to unify them?” the Dalai Lama said:
People from different traditions should keep their own, rather than change. However, some Tibetan may prefer Islam, so he can follow it. Some Spanish prefer Buddhism; so follow it. But think about it carefully. Don’t do it for fashion. Some people start Christian, follow Islam, then Buddhism, then nothing.
In the United States I have seen people who embrace Buddhism and change their clothes! Like the New Age. They take something Hindu, something Buddhist, something, something… That is not healthy.
For individual practitioners, having one truth, one religion, is very important. Several truths, several religions, is contradictory.
I am Buddhist. Therefore, Buddhism is the only truth for me, the only religion. To my Christian friend, Christianity is the only truth, the only religion. To my Muslim friend, [Islam] is the only truth, the only religion. In the meantime, I respect and admire my Christian friend and my Muslim friend. If by unifying you mean mixing, that is impossible, useless.
Classical Greek and Roman pagan views
The ancient Greeks were polytheists; pluralism in that historical era meant accepting the existence of and validity of other faiths, and the gods of other faiths. The Romans easily accomplished this task by subsuming the entire set of gods from other faiths into their own religion; this was done on rare occasion by adding a new god to their own pantheon; on most occasions they identified another religion's gods with their own, see
syncretism a form of
Inclusivism.
Christian views
Christians have traditionally argued that religious pluralism is an invalid or self-contradictory concept. Maximal forms of religious pluralism claim that all religions are equally true, or that one religion can be true for some and another for others. This Christians hold to be
logically impossible. (Most Jews and Muslims similarly reject this maximal form of pluralism.)
Hindu views
The
Hindu religion is naturally pluralistic. A well-known
Rig Vedic hymn stemming from Hinduism claims that "Truth is One, though the sages know it variously." (
Ékam sat vipra bahudā vadanti) The Hindu religion has no theological difficulties in accepting degrees of truth in other religions. Just as Hindus worshiping
Ganesh is seen as valid by those worshiping
Vishnu, so someone worshiping Jesus or Allah is accepted. Many
foreign deities become assimilated into Hinduism, and some Hindus may sometimes offer prayers to Jesus along with their traditional forms of
God. For this reason, Hinduism usually has good relations with other religious groups accepting pluralism. In particular, Hinduism and Buddhism coexist peacefully in many parts of the world.
Islamic views
Islam considers itself the only true path for following the will of
Allah (
God) and going to
Jannah (
Paradise,
Heaven).
Muslims consider the monotheistic faiths that preceded it,
Judaism and
Christianity, to be valid in its original form. Yet they believe that these religions were corrupted and are consequently invalid today. Muslims also believe that the Quran confirms the scriptures that came before including the
Torah and the
Gospel.
Jain views
Anekāntavāda, the principle of relative pluralism, is one of the basic principles of
Jainism. In this view, the truth or the reality is perceived differently from different points of view, and no single point of view is the complete truth. Jain doctrine states that an object has infinite modes of existence and qualities and they cannot be completely perceived in all its aspects and manifestations, due to inherent limitations of the humans. Only the
Kevalins - the omniscient beings - can comprehend the object in all its aspects and manifestations, and all others are capable of knowing only a part of it. Consequently, no one view can claim to represent the absolute truth. Jains compare all attempts to proclaim absolute truth with
adhgajanyāyah or the "
maxim of the blind men and elephant", wherein all the blind men claimed to explain the true appearance of the elephant, but could only partly succeed due to their narrow perspective.
[Hughes, Marilynn (2005) p.590-1]Jewish views
Sikh views
The
Sikh Gurus (religious leaders) have propagated the message of "many paths" leading to the
one God and ultimate
salvation for all souls who treading on the path of
righteousness. They have supported the view that proponents of all faiths can, by doing good and virtuous deeds and by remembering the
Lord can certainly achieve salvation. Students of the Sikh faith are told to accept all leading faiths as possible vehicles for attaining spiritual enlightenment, provided the faithful study, ponder and practice the teachings of their prophets and leaders. The holy book of the
Sikhs (the
Sri Guru Granth Sahib) says, "Do not say that the Vedas, the Bible and the Koran are false. Those who do not contemplate them are false." Guru Granth Sahib page 1350. and "The seconds,minutes,and hours,days,weeks and months and various seasons originate from One Sun; O nanak,in just the same way, the many forms originate from the Creator." Guru Granth Sahib page 12,13
The Guru Granth Sahib also says that
Bhagat Namdev and
Bhagat Kabir, who were both believed to be
Hindus, both attained salvation though they were born before
Sikhism took root and were clearly not Sikhs. This highlights and reinforces the Guru's saying that "peoples of other faiths" can join with God as true and also at the same time signify that Sikhism is not the exclusive path for liberation. Again, the Guru Granth Sahib provides this verse: "
Naam Dayv the printer, and
Kabeer the weaver, obtained salvation through the Perfect Guru. Those who know God and recognize His
Shabad ("word") lose their ego and class consciousness."
Guru Granth Sahib page 67 Most of the 15
Sikh Bhagats who are mentioned in their holy book were non-Sikhs and belonged to Hindu and Muslim faiths, which were the most prevalent religions of this region.
Sikhs have always being eager exponents of
interfaith dialogue and will not only accept the right of other to practise their faith but have in the past fought and laid down their lives to protect this right for others. See the sacrifice of the ninth Sikh Guru,
Guru Tegh Bahadar who on the final desperate and heart-rending pleas of the Kashmiri Pandit, agreed to put up a fight for their right to practise their religion. In this regard,
Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru writes in the
Dasam Granth :
The Sikhs have promoted their faith as an
Interfaith religion and have taken a lead in uniting all the different religions of the world. The message of unity of the faiths is summed up in this quotation from the Guru Granth Sahib: "One who recognizes that all spiritual paths lead to the One shall be emancipated. One who speaks lies shall fall into hell and burn. In all the world, the most blessed and sanctified are those who remain absorbed in Truth." (Guru Granth Sahib page 142)
Intra-religious pluralism
Christian views
Classical Christian views
Before the
Great Schism, mainstream Christianity confessed "one holy catholic and apostolic church", in the words of the
Nicene Creed.
Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians,
Episcopalians and most Protestant Christian denominations still maintain this belief.
Church unity was something very visible and tangible, and schism was just as serious an offense as heresy. Following the Great Schism, Roman Catholicism sees and recognizes the Orthodox Sacraments as valid. Eastern Orthodoxy does not have the concept of "validity" when applied to Sacraments, but it considers the
form of Roman Catholic Sacraments to be acceptable, if still devoid of actual spiritual content. Both generally regard each other as "heterodox" and "schismatic", while continuing to recognize each other as Christian. Attitudes of both towards different Protestant groups vary, primarily based upon how strongly Trinitarian the Protestant group in question might be.
Many Christians hold that the Christian church is not just an institution, which can be broken into many denominations. They hold that each instituted church is able to worship
God in a way that conforms to
Scripture, which allows for many different styles and customs. They hold that all true Christians are united in belief in Jesus Christ, which can be judged against such documents as the
Apostles' Creed.
Modern Christian views
Many Protestant Christian groups hold that only believers which believe in certain fundamental doctrines know the true pathway to salvation. The core of this doctrine is that Jesus Christ was a perfect man, is the Son of God and that he died and rose again for the wrongdoing of those who will accept the gift of salvation. They continue to believe in "one" church, believing in fundamental issues there is unity and non-fundamental issues there is liberty. Some Protestants are doubtful if the Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy are still valid manifestations of the Church and usually reject movements begun within 19th century Christianity, such as Mormonism,
Christian Science, or
Jehovah's Witnesses as not distinctly Christian.
Modern Christian ideas on intra-religious pluralism (between different denominations of Christianity) are discussed in the article on
Ecumenism.
Islamic views
Classical views
Like Christianity, Islam originally did not have ideas of religious pluralism for different Islamic denominations. Early on, Islam developed into several mutually antagonistic streams, including
Shiite Islam and
Sunni Islam. In some periods believers in these two communities went to war with each other over religious differences.
Modern (post-Enlightenment) Islamic views
The concept of pluralism was introduced to Islamic philosophy by
Abdolkarim Soroush. He got the idea from
Rumi the famous Persian poet and philosopher. Soroush tried to expand his theory and put it on a solid foundation. His views have been criticized extensively in traditional religious circles.
Some Shiite, Suni and Sufi Islamic leaders are willing to recognize each other's denomination as a valid form of Islam. However, many other Islamic leaders are unwilling to accept this; they view other forms of Islam as outside the Islamic religion.
Jewish views
See also
