In contrast, any non-pluralist theory of religious diversity is associated with many arguably bad qualities. (Datta 2005; Morales 2008) It has been argued that whether and how a Hindu embraces a theory of religious pluralism will depend crucially on what she takes Hinduism to be. (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. al. The tradition now called Hinduism is and always has been very internally diverse. While there are other sorts of negative naive pluralism, we shall concentrate on positive kinds here, as most of the scholarly literature focuses on those. (Long 2005), Building on the speculative metaphysics of Alfred North Whiteheads (18611947) Process and Reality (1929), and work by his student Charles Hartshorne (1897-2000), theologians John Cobb and David Ray Griffin have advocated what the latter calls deep, differential, and complementary pluralism what is here described as ultimist. (Cooper 2006, ch. (Sharma 1999, ch. (Long 2005) The slogan may also imply that all religions feature veridical experience of that one object, by way of a non-cognitive, immediate awareness. After catholic Christianity became the official religion of the empire (c. 381), it was usually assumed that the message had been preached throughout the world, leaving all adult non-Christians without excuse. Consider the claim that the cosmos was intentionally made. This sort of core pluralism was propounded by some members of the Theosophical Society such as co-founder Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-91) in her widely read The Secret Doctrine (1888), and by French convert to Sufi Islam Ren Gunon (1886-1951) and those influenced by him, such as the eclectic Swiss-German writer Frithjof Schuon (1907-98). 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. Must the Mahayanist make any significant revision to accept the proposed threefold reality of Emptiness, gods, and lords? Some Buddhist texts teach that there can be a solitary Buddha (pratyekabuddha), a person who has gained enlightenment by his own efforts, independently of Buddhist teaching. Legenhausen, Hajj Muhammad [Gary Carl]. (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. A Primer on Diversity - Resources The degree of religious diversity in the US is also reflected in Americans' core social networks. However, he maintained that people in the religions interact with it indirectly, by way of various personae and impersonae, personal and impersonal appearances or phenomena of the Real. (Dupuis 2001; Meeker 2003; section 3c below) Similarly, Buddhists usually allow that a person may gain positive karma, and so a better rebirth, by the practice of various other religions, helping her to advance, life by life, towards getting the cure by means of the distinctive Buddhist beliefs and practices. Insofar as a religion claims to possess a diagnosis of the fundamental problem facing humans and a cure, that is, a way to permanently and positively resolve this problem, it will then assume that other, incompatible diagnoses and cures are incorrect. 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. 7). Thus, it has been observed that identist religious pluralism (see 2e below) is essentially a Hindu position, and closely resembles Advaita Vendanta thought. State University of New York at Fredonia These are called protected characteristics. Or what sense would it make for an Orthodox Jew, whose religion teaches him to be fruitful and multiply, to employ the Buddhist practice of viewing corpses at a burial ground so as to expunge the unwanted liability of sexual desire? Instead, Hick downgrades the importance of true belief to religion. 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. It can be argued that Abe is an inclusivist, maintaining that Buddhism is the best religion, rather than a true pluralist. With the split of the catholic movement into Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox branches, the church was understood in Western contexts to be specifically the Roman Catholic church. (Neuner and Dupuis 2001, 309-10) It also seems to close the door to non-standard routes to church membership, saying that never was anyone, conceived by a man and a woman, liberated from the devils dominion except by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. (Tanner 1990, 575) Non-Catholics will go into the everlasting fireunless they are joined to the catholic church before the end of their livesnobody can be saved, no matter how much he has given away in alms and even if has shed his blood in the name of Christ, unless he has persevered in the bosom and the unity of the catholic church. (Tanner 1990, 578), This exclusivistic or rigorist way of understanding the slogan, on which only the Roman Catholic church could provide the cure needed by all humans, was the most common Catholic stance on religious diversity until mid-nineteenth century. Now that the time is right, the truth may be told, that is, Mahayana doctrine, superseding the old. All the theories discussed in this article are ways that (usually religious) people regard other religions, but here we discuss them abstractly, without descending much into the details of how they would be worked out in the teachings and practices of any one religion. For instance, some religions teach that the ultimate reality (the most real, only real, or primary thing) is ineffable (such that no human concept can apply to it). 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. In the second, even a virtuous pagan might be a church member. (Hick 1982 ch. (Burton 2010), In much religious studies, theology, and philosophy of religion literature of the 1980s through the 2000s, the term religious pluralism means the theory of philosopher John Hick. (Hick 1997). The 7 Main Characteristics of Religion | Life Persona Thus, the Hindu intellectual Ram Mohun Roy (1772/4-1833) held that Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity, when understood in their original, non-idolatrous and non-superstitious ways, all teach the important truths about God and humankind, enabling humans to love and serve God. 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. Preparation For The Future If a workplace has done the necessary work, it's bound to be culturally diverse. U. S. A. Diversity Guide - Religion and Belief - Equality and Diversity (Yandell 2013), Again, it has been objected that Hick, contrary to many religions, downgrades religious practice and belief as inessential to a religion, the only important features of a religion being that it is a response to the Ultimate Reality and that it fosters the ethical transformation noted above. For example, millennials, GenZers and GenXers can coexist in the same workplace. This celestial plane is a personal God. An improvement upon naive pluralism acknowledges differences in all the aspects of religions, but separates peripheral from core differences. Diversity in religion is one of the world's strengths, not one of its weaknesses. Even God, the greatest concrete, actual being in this philosophy is, in the end, an all-encompassing unity of experience, and is to be understood as a process of Creative-Responsive love. (Griffin 2005b; Cooper 2006, ch. While Smiths view rests on belief in an impersonal Ultimate, other versions of core pluralism rest upon monotheism. 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. A theory of religious pluralism says that all religions of some kind are the same in some valuable respect(s). (Peterson et. Nor can he be fruitful and multiply while living as a celibate Buddhist monk. In other words, this Ultimate Reality, due to the various qualities of human minds, appears to various people as personae, such as God, the Trinity, Allah, Vishnu, and also as impersonae such as Emptiness, Nirvana, Nirguna Brahman, and the Dao. Hinduism., de Cea, Abraham Vlez. Cultivating Awareness of Religious and Spiritual Diversity As explained above (section 3c) a major impetus for this has been statements issued by the latest official council (Vatican II, 1962-5). In Mahayana Buddhism, the ultimate reality, a formless but active non-thing, is Emptiness, or the Truth Body (Dharmakaya). In this article, religious pluralism refers to a theory about the diversity of religions. 3. Diversity and discrimination These, however, are mere associations; there seems to be no obvious entailments between the theories of religious diversity and the above qualities. (Hick 2011), A less developed identist pluralism is explored by Peter Byrne. In other contexts, religious pluralism is a normative principle requiring that peoples of all or most religions should be treated the same. Ethnic or national origins include, for In all these ways, they argue that their ultimist pluralism is superior to other pluralisms. Moreover, some influential modern Hindu leaders have adopted a complicated rhetoric of universal religion, which often assumes some sort of religious pluralism. While such naive exclusivist positions are rarely expounded by scholars, they frequently appear in the work of pluralists and inclusivists, held up as unfortunate, harmful, and unreasonable theories which are in urgent need of replacement. On the one hand, it is difficult to consistently distinguish inclusivism from exclusivism, because the latter nearly always concedes some significant value to other religions. As a relative latecomer which has always acknowledged the legitimacy of previous prophets, including Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, while proclaiming its prophet to be the greatest and last, Islam has, like Judaism, tended towards inclusivist views of other religions. Although you may be nervous about broaching the subject, it is important to discuss religious diversity so . Thus, if central Christian teachings are true, then so is at least one central teaching of these two rival religions. 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. This is because they cannot be empirically verified, that is, their truth or falsity is not known by way of observational evidence. More Empathy The second part contains answers to questions linked to the treatment of differences in religious education in Croatia and characteristics of teachers that can be linked to this theme. Some theorized, for instance, that a baptism of blood, that is, martyrdom, would be enough to save unbaptized catechumens. The following was edited from Brie Loskota's opening remarks at Reimagining Religion: A Conversation about the Future of Religion, held at University of Southern California on February 9, 2017.. We are in a period of flux, a period of rapid and continuous change, where the old order is being torn down, where people are disaffiliating from groups, and where institutional life is being . Email: filosofer@gmail.com Thus, Augustine of Hippo (354-430) and Fulgentius of Ruspe (468-533) interpreted the slogan as implying that all non-Christians are damned, because they bear the guilt of original sin stemming from the sin of Adam, which has not been as it were washed away by baptism. 2013, 333) For instance, if Theravada Buddhism is correct that humans are trapped in the cycle of rebirth by craving and ignorance, even if one goes to a heavenly realm upon death, such as envisaged by non-Buddhist religions, one is still trapped in samsara, in this realm of suffering, albeit at a higher tier. 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. Influential German theologian Karl Rahner (1904-84), in his essay Christianity and the Non-Christian Religions, argues that before people encounter Christianity, other religions may be the divinely appointed means of their salvation. Religion diversity can simply refer to the development of religions that depend on the cultures. The underlying metaphysics here is that of process philosophy, in which events are the basic or fundamental units of reality. Although many traditional Protestant Christians hold some form of exclusivism, others favor an inclusivism much like Rahners. Key facts about Asian Americans | Pew Research Center The classic discussion of this is in the Lotus Sutra (before 255 C.E. Contrary to widespread depictions of religious blocs of uniform practices, values and concerns, it is essential to emphasize the plurality of . "Exploring the Impact of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - LinkedIn 7; Griffin 2005b). But one may talk also of negative religious pluralism in which most or all religions have little or no positive value and are equal in this respect. These objects of religious experience are mind-dependent, in that they depend for their existence, in part, on people with certain religious backgrounds. Again, if a Christian diagnosis is correct, that humans are alienated from and need to be reconciled to God, yet some manage to attain Nirvana, they would still lack the cure, for it is no part of Nirvana that one is reconciled to God. This type of diversity refers to the presence of multiple religions and spiritual beliefs (including lack thereof) in the workplace. (Burton 2010). (Legenhausen 2009), The term religious pluralism is almost always used for a theory asserting positive value for many or most religions. Inclusivism for some authors just means a friendlier or more open-minded exclusivism. On the Plurality of Religious Pluralisms., Long, Jeffery D. Anekanta Vedanta: Towards a Deep Hindu Religious Pluralism., Long, Jeffery D. Universalism in Hinduism., Mawson, T.J. Byrnes religious pluralism., Meeker, Kevin. (OConnor 1999) This exclusivism is compatible with both exclusivism and inclusivism in this article. Religious diversity - differences within and between religious groups in a society - has re-entered the sociology of religion in new and powerful ways. They can also influence components of enablement. Abes views have been criticized by other scholars as misunderstanding some other religions claims, and as privileging Mahayana Buddhist doctrines, insofar as he understands these doctrines as being truer than others. It is impossible that all three experiences are veridical. Some philosophers, going against the much-discussed identist pluralism of John Hick (see 2e above) use exclusivism to mean reasonable and informed religious belief which is not pluralist. Given that any core pluralism inevitably downplays the other non-core elements of the religions, this approach has also been called reductive pluralism. (Legenhausen 2006), The most influential recent proponent of a version of core pluralism has been Huston Smith. When it comes to freedom of religion, it matters how people of faith are spoken of in politics and the media. 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. Concept and Characteristics of Diversity: Linguistic, Regional & Religious 2013, 268-72) Third, religions differ in how much, if at all, they make empirically verifiable claims, so it is unclear that all religions will be equal in making meaningless claims. (Netland 2001, 23-54) Theories of religious diversity have largely been driven by attacks on and defenses of such claims, and discussions continue within the realm of Christian theology. From African Americans to Russian Americans . gender reassignment. the coexistence of various perspectives (political, religious), backgrounds (racial/ethnic, sexual orientation, nationality) gender) variety. (Long 2011) Still, some Hindus object to various kinds of pluralism. There are numerous cultures in the world, understood as different visions of the cosmos , of humanity itself and of the world, with their traditions, imaginaries, languages and representations. Hicks claim that no human concept applies to the Ultimate Reality has been criticized by many, whove pointed out that Hick applies these concepts to it: being one, being ultimate, being a partial cause of the impersonae and personae, and being ineffable. Characteristically Religious Feelings Awe, a sense of mystery, a sense of guilt, and adoration are "religious feelings" which tend to be aroused in religious believers when they come in the presence of sacred objects, in sacred places, and during the practice of sacred rituals. Beginning in the late twentieth century, however, some Jewish thinkers have argued for pluralism along the lines of various Christian authors, revising traditional Jewish theology. 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. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, including the U.S. 70% of Americans attend a religious service monthly. 1919) In his view, the common core of religions is a tiered worldview. Religious Diversity, Theories of | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy If the core is veridical experiences, all religions will enable ways to perceive whatever the objects of religious experience are. marriage and civil partnership. Exploring the trend in religious diversity: Based on the geographical The Politics and Practice of Religious Diversity engages with one of the most characteristic features of modern society. Spiritual and Religious Diversity | Consumer Enablement Guide Religious Diversity (Pluralism) - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy While some characteristics of diversity include age, gender, the color of the skin. This, it is hoped, rules out anyone having grounds for believing any particular religion to be the uniquely best religion. Local variations in Protestant practices and ethnic differences among the white settlers did foster a religious diversity. Attending a culturally diverse institute of education will prepare students for their future in a workplace. 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. 2) He was what we now call a pluralistic Hindu (and most Hindus would add that he was also an unorthodox Hindu). Finally, some authors use descriptive religious pluralism to mean what is here called religious diversity, calling normative religious pluralism views that are here called varieties of religious pluralism. While the trichotomy has been repeatedly challenged, it is still widely used, and can be precisely defined in various ways. Wouldnt this be to attribute more reality to God than shes willing to? Religious Diversity in Psychology: Examples & Impact 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). The formation and development of religious diversity is a manifestation of the free expression of human thought, belief, and practice, as well as a historical premise and ideological condition for the gradual recognition and integration of modern religions into modern political values. This position cannot be self-consistently maintained. The Equality Act replicates the provisions of previous legislation. Asians have a lower homeownership rate than the U.S. public overall (59% vs. 64%). This sort of pluralism, following Gunon and Schuon, has been championed by Iranian philosopher Seyyed Hossein Nasr (b. (For others see Hick 2004, Introduction.). Religious and Spiritual Diversity | The Office of Diversity, Inclusion This transformation, Hick theorizes, is really the point of religion. Monotheists, after all, take the ultimate being to be a personal god while others, variously called ultimists, absolutists, or monists, hold the ultimate to be impersonal, such as the Dao, Emptiness, Nirguna Brahman, and so forth. Generally, a belief should affect your life choices or the way you live for it to be included in the definition. How can a Theravada Buddhists accept that such a heavenly next life is a good and final end for non-Buddhists? On the other hand, many theorists want to adopt the friendly and broad-minded sounding label pluralism for their theory, even though they clearly hold that one religion is uniquely valuable. (Hasker 2011) At first Hick evades the issue of polytheism by describing his theory not as a kind of polytheism, but rather as poly-something. He then suggests that two views of the personae are compatible with his theory: that they are mental projections, or that they are real, but angel- or deva like beings, intermediaries and not really gods. Beyond this is infinite, unlimited Being (also called Absolute Truth, the True Reality, the Absolute, God). (Dupuis 2001, 170-9; Neuner and Dupuis 2001, 350-1). Diversity recognises that everyone is different in a . Religion is a system of beliefs and moral norms that serve as spiritual guide for the human being; the mythology that composes them and their main characteristics vary between culture and culture. (Plantinga 1999, 124-5; Neuner and Dupuis 2001, 305) Note that this might still be interpreted with or without the various non-standard ways to obtain church membership mentioned above. Religious Diversity in Classrooms - Video & Lesson Transcript - Study.com Further, it is really Creativity that is ultimate, and it is embodied in and does not exist apart from or as an object in addition to God and the Cosmos. But Heims theory does not require them to be, but only that they occur and may be plausibly thought of as fulfilling to those who have them. This diversity is increasing, even in communities that have previously been relatively homogeneous. Letters by Pius XII (r. 1939-58) declared that a by an unconscious desire and longing non-Catholics may enjoy a saving relationship with the church. Stenmark views it as most similar to identist pluralism (see 2e below). Dale Tuggy Diversity definition: what do we mean by diversity in the workplace? He applies the Mahayana doctrine of the three bodies of the Buddha to other religions. Some experience this Being as if it were a god, but the most able gain a non-conceptual awareness of it in its ineffable glory. A similar pluralism is advanced by Japanese Zen scholar Masao Abe (1915-2006). What are the types of diversity? - Workable On such a metaphysics, any apparent substance (being, entity) turns out to be one or more events or processes. Diversity is the differences in colour, ethnicity, abilities, age, gender, beliefs, interests, socioeconomic (class), marital or partnership status, sexual orientation, geographic, academic/professional backgrounds, opinions, backgrounds, thinking, experiences and many other characteristics. 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).