characteristics of religious diversity

This unified consistency may be hoped for in terms of truth, or in terms of practice. It is a mistake, he now holds, to suppose that the personae (that is, Vishnu, Yahweh, Allah, and so on) are angel-like selves. (Burton 2010). But Stenmarks some-are-equally-right view can also be seen as a form of core pluralism, the core being truths about the one God and our need for relationship with God. Further, it respects and does not try to eliminate all these differences, and so makes genuine dialogue between members of the religions possible. 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. al. (Peterson et. The 7 Main Characteristics of Religion | Life Persona An informed Christian must concede that Jews and Muslims too believe this, and that they teach it as a central doctrine. 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 . In modern times, it tries to equalize other religions in the same ways it equalizes the apparently contrary claims and practices internal to it. (OConnor 1999; King 2008; Bogardus 2013), Others object that given the transcategoriality or ineffability of the Real, even with the above qualifications, there is no reason to think that interaction with the Real should be ethically beneficial, or that it should have any connection at all to any religious value. Because of this, arguably exclusivism (or inclusivism, see section 4 below) is a default view in religious traditions. Some characteristics of religion are the worship of gods or prophets, beliefs in a system of norms and values, symbology or places of worship. (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. They can also influence components of enablement. In reply, Hick urges that his claims are not themselves religious, but are rather about religious matters, and are, as such, philosophical. Religion and Sexual Behaviors: Understanding the Influence of Islamic Even a Mahayana Buddhist may have a lot of adjusting to do, if she is to admit that believers in a personal God really do experience the greatest entity, and something which is not separate from Emptiness. (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. Dabblers and hobbyists freely stitch together unique quilts of religious beliefs and practices, but such constructions seem to make little sense once a believer has accepted any particular religion. For example, millennials, GenZers and GenXers can coexist in the same workplace. (Hick 2011), A less developed identist pluralism is explored by Peter Byrne. al. 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. Now that the time is right, the truth may be told, that is, Mahayana doctrine, superseding the old. Worldwide, more than eight-in-ten people identify with a religious group. An increasingly prominent and potentially contentious phenomenon, religious diversity is intimately associated with contemporary issues such as migration, human rights, social cohesion, socio-cultural pluralisation, political jurisdiction, globalisation, and reactionary . In contrast, exclusivist approaches say that only one religion is uniquely valuable. What about the religions practices are they all complementary? Religious diversity definition: The diversity of something is the fact that it contains many very different elements. This led to both the questioning and the defense of various exclusivist traditional Christian claims. 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. Definition of the Religion as a Form of Diversity Essay - Free Essays (Long 2011) Still, some Hindus object to various kinds of pluralism. Dissenters are found among historians of religion, who deny that there is and has always been a common core in all of the worlds religions. Other Buddhists experience Amida Buddha, while Christians experience Christ, and Jews Yahweh, Hindus Isvara, and Muslims Allah. Colour includes, for example, being black or white. (Netland 2001), Others object that Hicks pluralism requires arbitrarily reinterpreting religious language non-literally, and usually as having to do with morality, contrary to what most proponents of those religions believe. 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. Consider the claim that the cosmos was intentionally made. These objects of religious experience are mind-dependent, in that they depend for their existence, in part, on people with certain religious backgrounds. It has always been recognized by people outside the smallest and most isolated communities. It can build strength of character, pride, and confidence. The Problem of Contingency for Religious Belief,, Byrne, Peter. 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. In the first case, a person who is killed in an accident on her way to be baptized would nonetheless be in the church. However, they nearly always have at least one criterion for excluding religions as inferior in the aspect(s) they focus on. 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. (Hick 1997). (Heim 1995, 163) This is consistent with the Christian thinking that the end pursued by Christians is in fact better than all others; thus, heaven is better than Nirvana. 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. Concept and Characteristics of Diversity: Linguistic, Regional & Religious Appropriating Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian language, Smith says that this spirit is the Atman that is Brahman, the Buddha-nature that appears when our finite selves get out of its way, my istigkeit (is-ness) whichwe see is Gods is-ness. (Smith 2003 ch. 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. (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. In response to his claims that non-pluralistic religious believers are being arrogant, irrational, or arbitrary in believing that one religion (theirs) is the most true one, it has been pointed out that Hick too, as a religious pluralist, holds views which are inconsistent with many or most religions, seemingly preferring his own insights or experiences to theirs, which would, by Hicks own lights, be just as arrogant, irrational, or arbitrary. (Smart 1996) Religious traditions differ along all these dimensions. 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. (Heim 1995, 7). A Primer on Diversity - Resources Given that it is ineffable, this Being is neither a god, nor the God of monotheism. Or are those gods mere fictions? It is hard to see, then, how his theory enables one to be, as Hick claimed to be, a pluralistic Christian, given that one has replaced the diagnosis and cure of Christianity with those of Hicks pluralism. It can be argued that Abe is an inclusivist, maintaining that Buddhism is the best religion, rather than a true pluralist. Some authors, usually ones who wish to celebrate these facts, call them religious pluralism, but this entry reserves this label for a family of theories about the facts of religious diversity. 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. 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. What sense, for instance, would it make for a Zen Buddhist to undergo the Catholic rites of confession and penance? 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. Dale Tuggy An improvement upon naive pluralism acknowledges differences in all the aspects of religions, but separates peripheral from core differences. Key facts about Asian Americans | Pew Research Center 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. 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. 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. Literature since 1950 focuses on the truth or rationality of religious teachings, the veridicality (conformity with reality) of religious experiences, salvific efficacy (the ability to deliver whatever cure religion should provide), and alleged directedness towards one and the same ultimate religious object. For instance, as an inclusivist Christian, Heim holds that Buddhists really do attain Nirvana. (Burton 2010) On the other hand, some religions teachings are simply false and their practices are unhelpful; the contents of their prescribed beliefs and practices matter. In contrast, any non-pluralist theory of religious diversity is associated with many arguably bad qualities. Spiritual and Religious Diversity Religious and spiritual beliefs can be a personal determinant of enablement. This, he will not do. Judaism and Other Faiths., Datta, Narendra [Swami Vivekananda]. Thus, it has been observed that identist religious pluralism (see 2e below) is essentially a Hindu position, and closely resembles Advaita Vendanta thought. This naive pluralism is refuted by accurate information on religious differences. He applies the Mahayana doctrine of the three bodies of the Buddha to other religions. If the core is true teachings, theyll all be true (to some degree). The religious composition and social context varies considerably by generation. This view has not been widely accepted because the Process theology and philosophy on which it is based has not been widely accepted. (Hick 2004; Quinn and Meeker 2000) Hicks approach is original, thorough, and informed by a broad and deep knowledge of many religions. A theory of religious pluralism says that all religions of some kind are the same in some valuable respect(s). This study examines the spatial characteristics of the development of the global religious diversity index . 3, 3-4). The unaffiliated represent close to 5%. Asians have a lower homeownership rate than the U.S. public overall (59% vs. 64%). Smith holds that in former ages, and among primitive peoples now, such a worldview is near universal. 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. In the second, even a virtuous pagan might be a church member. Religious diversity is the fact that there are significant differences in religious belief and practice. Religious diversity - differences within and between religious groups in a society - has re-entered the sociology of religion in new and powerful ways. A typical Rabbinic view is that although non-Jews may be reconciled to God, and thus gain life in the world to come, by keeping a lesser covenant which God has made with them, still Jews enjoy a better covenant with God. A similar pluralism is advanced by Japanese Zen scholar Masao Abe (1915-2006). 1939), have formulated various pluralist theories. 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. The Politics and Practice of Religious Diversity 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. sexual orientation. In this article, religious pluralism refers to a theory about the diversity of religions. Such would be the work of a religiously embedded and committed theology of religious diversity, not of a general philosophy of religious diversity. OConnor, Timothy. Generally, a belief should affect your life choices or the way you live for it to be included in the definition. (Dupuis 2000, 91-2). On the other hand, others seem to make little or no sense outside the context of the home religion, and others are simply incompatible. 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. 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. Instead, Hick downgrades the importance of true belief to religion. 3) To say that it is either, Hick realizes, would be to hand an epistemic victory to either the monotheists or the absolutists (ultimists). But it is very rare for a scholar to go beyond merely assuming or asserting some sort of causal connection between the various theories about religious diversity and the above virtues and vices. 2013, 333-40) Theologically liberal Protestants most often hold on to some form of religious pluralism. Perhaps these are the angels, devas, and heavenly Buddhas of the religions, great but nonetheless finite beings. Diversity refers to all of the ways in which people differ, including primary characteristics, such as age, race, gender, ethnicity, mental and physical abilities, and sexual orientation; and secondary characteristics, such as nationality, education, income, religion, work experience, language skills, geographic location, family status, (Netland 2001; Burton 2010). First, we have the protected characteristics, such as race, age, gender and sexual orientation. Swedish philosopher Mikael Stenmark explores what he calls the some-are-equally-right view about religious diversity, and discusses a version of it on which Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are held to possess equal amounts of religiously important truths. How DIVERSE Are the Religions? - Religion 101 On such a metaphysics, any apparent substance (being, entity) turns out to be one or more events or processes. Diversity of religion and spiritual beliefs - Racism. No Way! (Neuner and Dupuis 2001, 329), Since the Vatican II council (1962-5), many Catholic theologians have embraced what most philosophers will consider some form of inclusivism rather than a suitably qualified exclusivism, with a minority opting for some sort of pluralism. (Mawson 2005), Historically, Buddhist thought about other religions has almost never been pluralistic. The underlying metaphysics here is that of process philosophy, in which events are the basic or fundamental units of reality. This sort of pluralism, following Gunon and Schuon, has been championed by Iranian philosopher Seyyed Hossein Nasr (b. Hinduism., de Cea, Abraham Vlez. PDF How would you define diversity? - UNC Gillings School of Global Public So too at least some other religions must still be means for salvation, though not necessarily to the same degree, for God wills the salvation of all humankind. Some practices seem compatible, such as church attendance and mindfulness meditation. 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. However, such a person is probably only thinking of large, respectable, and historically important religions. Thus, if central Christian teachings are true, then so is at least one central teaching of these two rival religions. 3. A muted ally in this was the influential religious scholar Mircea Eliade (1907-86), whose work focused on comparing mythologies, and on what he viewed as an important, primitive religious outlook, which separates things into the sacred and the profane. Many people associate any sort of pluralist theory of religious diversity with a number of arguably good qualities. These, however, are mere associations; there seems to be no obvious entailments between the theories of religious diversity and the above qualities. Diversity definition: what do we mean by diversity in the workplace? This is an inclusivist view about getting the cure, and about central religious truths. Judaism is . In contrast, each of the various religions claims to have discerned the one fundamental problem facing humans, namely, the problem from which other problems derive. Although you may be nervous about broaching the subject, it is important to discuss religious diversity so . Age diversity Age diversity means working with people of different ages and, most importantly, generations. All Christians believe that some were saved before Christianity, through Judaism. For example, in Theravada Buddhism, one must realize that there is no self, whereas in Advaita Vedanta Hinduism one must gain awareness that ones true self is none other than the ultimate reality, Brahman. Among young adults (age 18 to 29), the most common religious identity today is none; more than one in three (34 percent) young adults are religiously unaffiliated. Another view which is taken by Bible-oriented evangelical Protestants allows the possibility of non-Christians receiving saving grace, but is firmly agnostic as to whether this actually occurs, and if it does, how often, because of the paucity of relevant biblical statements. Religious Pluralism: Generic, Identist, Deep., Griffin, David Ray. Wide distances, poor communication and transportation, bad weather, and the clerical shortage dictated religious variety from town to town and from region to region. Unfortunately, it is often used with some mix of the above values in mind, leaving it unclear exactly which values are pertinent. Here we can survey only a few of the criticisms that have been made. Others dissent because they accept the incompatible diagnosis and cure taught by some other religion, such as the ones found in Islam or Christianity. 2-4; Meeker 2003), Hicks identist religious pluralism has been objected to as thoroughly as any recent theory in philosophy. Of adult Americans, 89% believe in God, down slightly from 2007. Attending a culturally diverse institute of education will prepare students for their future in a workplace. We should respect freedom of religion by rejecting the kinds of false and damaging claims that are sometimes made about religion, especially Islam. (Legenhausen 2002). An ethnic group refers to people who are closely related to each other through characteristics such as culture, language, and religion. Diversity Guide - Religion and Belief - Equality and Diversity 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. (Stenmark 2009) He does not advocate this view, but explores it as an alternative to exclusivism, inclusivism, and Hickian identist pluralism. Diversity, Divisions, Religion, Caste, Secularism, News, Theocratic states, Terrorism, Fundamentalism, Extremism, Congress, BJP, Communism. Water baptism, from the beginning, had been the initiation rite into Christianity, but it was still unclear what church membership strictly required. Religious Diversity Around The World | Pew Research Center 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.