Byron Rogers Obituary, Articles C

7). Such views are consistent with exclusivism in the sense that Roman Catholic Christianity is the one divinely provided and so most effective instrument of salvation, as well as the most true religion, and the true religion in the sense that any claim which contradicts it official teaching is false. 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. It has been typical also for Buddhist thinkers to hold that at best, the same is true of other religious traditions. The underlying metaphysics here is that of process philosophy, in which events are the basic or fundamental units of reality. (Dupuis 2001, 86-9), However, what about Jews, pagans, unbaptized babies, or people who never have a chance to hear the Christian message? 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. Judaism and Other Faiths., Datta, Narendra [Swami Vivekananda]. Diversity of religion and spiritual beliefs - Racism. No Way! Exclusivism, Inclusivism, Pluralism: The Tripolar Typology Clarified and Reaffirmed., Sharma, Arvind. While some characteristics of diversity include age, gender, the color of the skin. Religious Diversity in Classrooms - Video & Lesson Transcript - Study.com The impetus for this change was fueled by statements from that council (their Latin titles: Lumen Gentium, Ad Gentes, Nostra Aetate, Gaudium et Spes, Heilsoptimismus), which are in various ways positive towards non-Catholics. (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. One of Lucy's patients is a Buddhist man whose family immigrated from China before he was born. It is a mistake, he now holds, to suppose that the personae (that is, Vishnu, Yahweh, Allah, and so on) are angel-like selves. Hick doesnt argue for the salvific or cure-delivering equality of all religions. (Dupuis 2000, 161-5) Some Catholic theologians have seen the seeds or even the basic elements of inclusivism in these statements, while others view them as within the orbit of a suitably articulated exclusivism. : a critical examination of some formulations of the Neo-Hindu position., Smith, Huston. 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 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. In the second, even a virtuous pagan might be a church member. In contrast, any non-pluralist theory of religious diversity is associated with many arguably bad qualities. A plurality of different religions, major and minor, exist in the world, each believing different things. true? A Primer on Diversity - Resources The term exclusivist was originally a polemical term, chosen in part for its negative connotations. 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. religion or belief. These are called protected characteristics. Religious Diversity (Pluralism) - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Sedgwick 2004) Like traditional religions, it too offers a diagnosis of the human condition and a cure. Cultivating Awareness of Religious and Spiritual Diversity This diversity is increasing, even in communities that have previously been relatively homogeneous. And secondly, we have all the different: Experiences Talents Skills Opinions Personalities These differences, for example employees' talents, are less obvious and require the organization's effort and proactiveness to shine. These are the undisputed facts of religious diversity. 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. Water baptism, from the beginning, had been the initiation rite into Christianity, but it was still unclear what church membership strictly required. Morales, Frank [Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya]. Religious Pluralism: Generic, Identist, Deep., Griffin, David Ray. Hinduism., de Cea, Abraham Vlez. (Netland 2001; Burton 2010). 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. While this is compatible with some religion being the best in some other respect(s), the theorists using this label have in mind that many religions are equal regarding the central value(s) of religion. 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. In other contexts, religious pluralism is a normative principle requiring that peoples of all or most religions should be treated the same. Race | Equality, Diversity & Inclusion - University of Cambridge Religious and Spiritual Diversity | The Office of Diversity, Inclusion (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. Religion and religion diversity are expressed by believers to cause strong opinions and emotions in all environments. (King, 2008; Rowe 1999; Yandell 1999) In response, Hick concedes that some concepts, formal ones, can be applied to the Real, while substantial ones cannot. (Dupuis 2001, 170-9; Neuner and Dupuis 2001, 350-1). 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. 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. Diversity can include characteristics such as cultural background and ethnicity, age, gender, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, language and education. Facts and Theories of Religious Diversity, Abe, Masao. marriage and civil partnership. 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. 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. A common strategy here is to simply ignore disreputable religious traditions, only discussing the prestigious ones. What do we mean by Race, Ethnicity and Diversity? - Kansas State University 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. This type of diversity refers to the presence of multiple religions and spiritual beliefs (including lack thereof) in the workplace. (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. (Peterson et. Later on, Hick firmly settled on the view that this Real should be thought of as ineffable. One prominent scholar argues that the neo-Hindu position on religious diversity (that is, modern Hindu pluralism) is not the view that all religions are equal, one, true, or the same. Thus, the slogan that there is no salvation outside the church (Latin: Extra ecclesiam nulla salus) was meant to communicate at bare minimum the uniqueness of the Christian church as Gods instrument of salvation since the resurrection of Jesus. If the core is salvifically effective practice, then all will be equal in that each is equally well a means to obtaining the cure. Nor can he be fruitful and multiply while living as a celibate Buddhist monk. one? What Exactly is Meant by "Religious Diversity"? What values are at issue? Importantly, he construes the various religious goals as experiences obtaining in this life and continuing beyond. In this and in a later book Heim asserts that such a plurality of ordained religious goals is implied by the doctrine of the Trinity. At bare minimum, the slogan that all religions are true means that all religions are in some way directed towards one Truth, where this is understood as an ultimate reality. This celestial plane is a personal God. Paradoxically, such pluralism is often expressed along with claims that Hinduism is greatly superior in various ways to other religions. The degree of religious diversity in the US is also reflected in Americans' core social networks. Among these purported facts, for Hick, is that the great religions equally well facilitate the ethical transformation of their adherents, what Hick calls a transformation from self-centeredness to other-centeredness and Reality-centeredness. 2; see section 3c below). (Abe 1985). Nonetheless, the Roman Catholic church remains the unique divine instrument; no one is saved without some positive relation to it. Starting as a traditional, non-pluralistic Christian, Hick attended religious meetings and studied with people of other religions. It is difficult to make a fully clear distinction between exclusivist and inclusivist approaches. Generally, a belief should affect your life choices or the way you live for it to be included in the definition. (Hick 1995, ch. 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. gender reassignment. (Dupuis 2000, 91-2). We should respect freedom of religion by rejecting the kinds of false and damaging claims that are sometimes made about religion, especially Islam. 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. It attracted widespread discussion and criticism, and Hick has engaged in a spirited debate with all comers. (For others see Hick 2004, Introduction.). The Equality Act replicates the provisions of previous legislation. Concept and Characteristics of Diversity: Linguistic, Regional & Religious (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. These connections between theory and character which are believed by some to provide practical arguments for or objections to various theories need to be argued for. Early bishop Ignatius of Antioch (c. 35-107) writes that if any follow a schismatic [that is, the founder of a religious group outside of the bishop-ruled catholic mainstream] they will not inherit the Kingdom of God. (Letter of Ignatius to the Philadelphians 3:3) Leading catholic theologian Origen of Alexandria (c. 186-255) wrote: outside the Church no one is saved. (Dupuis 2001, 86-7) Yet Origen also held, at least tentatively, that eventually all rational beings will be saved. Most importantly, it offers a chance to discover the deep self as Being. (Hick 1982 ch. This perennial philosophy appeals to many present-day people, particularly those who, like Smith, have moved from a childhood religious faith, in his case, Christianity, to a more naturalistic and, hence, atheistic outlook. 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. How could a perfect being fail to be available to all people in all the religions? 3. (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. Spiritual and Religious Diversity | Consumer Enablement Guide Diversity is a wide array of people that come from different backgrounds, lifestyles, social experiences, races, and religions. 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. (Dupuis 2001; Burton 2010), Historically, Jewish intellectuals have usually adopted an inclusivist rather than an exclusivist view about other religions. Heim strenuously objects to pluralist theories that they impose uniformity on the various religions. ]Religion and religious conceptions, beyond being systems of belief and patterns of worship . Such an outlook is commonly perceived as meaningless, hopeless, and devoid of value. 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). Equally, Advaita Vedanta Hindus must let go of their insistence on Nirguna Brahman as ultimate. 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). 1) Race as a negative social construct: physical appearance is used to discriminate, to exclude, to exploit, to abuse, and/or to profile, as in educational systems, traffic and criminal systems, housing and banking/mortgage lending, and medical care. Heim suggests that we should instead assume that other religions both pursue and achieve real and distinct religious salvations (goals or ends). A Cross-cultural and Buddhist-Friendly Interpretation of the Typology Exclusivism-Inclusivism-Pluralism., Griffin, David Ray. It can be argued that Abe is an inclusivist, maintaining that Buddhism is the best religion, rather than a true pluralist. They hope that each religion can, while remaining distinct, begin to construct global theologies, influenced by the truths and values of other religions. Or are those gods mere fictions? 2) He was what we now call a pluralistic Hindu (and most Hindus would add that he was also an unorthodox Hindu). This, he will not do. This seems incompatible with Heims agnosticism about which, if any, of the diagnosed problems is the fundamental one. 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). (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. RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY. 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. PDF How would you define diversity? - UNC Gillings School of Global Public There are other major ones which remain unseen. You are protected under the Equality Act 2010 from these types of discrimination. Roy, however, always retained his Hindu and Brahmin identities. The Religious Diversity Index is divided into four ranges: very high (the top 5% of scores), high (the next highest 15% of scores, which works out to 16% because of tie scores), moderate (the next 20% of scores) and low (the bottom 59% of scores). 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. 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. 3 There are many ethnic groups in the United States, due in large part to its immigrant population; each of these groups contributes to America's cultural heritage. The gods and lords will stay at the provisional levels of truth and reality, the levels which a fully enlightened person, as it were, sees beyond. 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. But others teach that the ultimate reality is a perfect self, a being capable of knowledge, will, and intentional action. How DIVERSE Are the Religions? - Religion 101 Beyond this is infinite, unlimited Being (also called Absolute Truth, the True Reality, the Absolute, God). Facts and Theories of Religious Diversity Scholars distinguish seven aspects of religious traditions: the doctrinal and philosophical, the mythic and narrative, the ethical and legal, the ritual and practical, the experiential and emotional, the social and organizational, and the material and artistic. If a religion cures only a shallow, derivative human problem, leaving the deeper problem intact, then what it offers would not deserve the name salvation, for it would leave those who achieve it still in need of the cure. In their view, those who confess experience of Emptiness, Nirguna Brahman, or the One (of Neoplatonism) behold the ultimate reality (Creativity) as it really is, in contrast to monotheists or cosmos-focused religionists, who latch on to what are limited aspects of Creativity. 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. Must the Mahayanist make any significant revision to accept the proposed threefold reality of Emptiness, gods, and lords? 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. While Smiths view rests on belief in an impersonal Ultimate, other versions of core pluralism rest upon monotheism. This is because they cannot be empirically verified, that is, their truth or falsity is not known by way of observational evidence. Stenmark views it as most similar to identist pluralism (see 2e below). Because of this, arguably exclusivism (or inclusivism, see section 4 below) is a default view in religious traditions. Differing people, perspectives, topics, ideas, etc. An exclusivist stance is often signaled by the claim that there is only one true religion. Other religions, then, are false. A naive person may infer from this that no claim, or no central claim of any other religion is true, but all such are false. For instance, as an inclusivist Christian, Heim holds that Buddhists really do attain Nirvana. A vast diversity of religious and spiritual traditions exists, and your clients may be affiliated with any of them. Some practices seem compatible, such as church attendance and mindfulness meditation. A common form of negative pluralism may be called verificationist pluralism. This is the view that all religious claims are meaningless, and as a result are incapable of rational evaluation. The Epistemological Challenge of Religious Pluralism., Ignatius of Antioch, The Letter of Ignatius to the Philadelphians, in, King, Nathan. Subjectively, those other people have similar grounds for belief. 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. Of adult Americans, 89% believe in God, down slightly from 2007. [This entry examines the origins and differing patterns of development of the world's major religious traditions, as well as the varying patterns of interaction between these religions and the social, political, and economic frameworks with which they coexist. The Many Gods of Hick and Mavrodes,, Hick, John. But these lesser ways should and eventually will give way to Christianity, the truest religion, intended for all humankind. 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. Religion, Politics and Society. Diversity, Divisions, Religion, Caste 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. One may object that this above proposal is counter to the equalizing spirit of pluralism. Worldwide, more than eight-in-ten people identify with a religious group. Finally, because of their fit with many traditional religious beliefs and commitments, sometimes exclusivism and inclusivism are considered as two varieties of confessionalism, views on which one religion istrue andwe must view other religions in the light of that fact. (Byrne 2004, 203). 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. Although many traditional Protestant Christians hold some form of exclusivism, others favor an inclusivism much like Rahners. What about the religions practices are they all complementary? 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. 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. 2013, 333-40) Theologically liberal Protestants most often hold on to some form of religious pluralism. Race Race is a protected characteristic that refers to an individual's race, colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins. If the core is veridical experiences, all religions will enable ways to perceive whatever the objects of religious experience are. Such theologians, prominently Hans Kng (b. These objects of religious experience are mind-dependent, in that they depend for their existence, in part, on people with certain religious backgrounds. (Hick 2004, ch. Asians have a lower homeownership rate than the U.S. public overall (59% vs. 64%). (Sharma 1979) But if there is no one clear modern Hindu pluralism, it remains that various modern Indian thinkers have held to versions of core or identist pluralism. This means making sure each employee is treated equally. When employees feel that they are valued and that their contributions are . As explained above (section 3c) a major impetus for this has been statements issued by the latest official council (Vatican II, 1962-5). Here we can survey only a few of the criticisms that have been made. 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. For example, millennials, GenZers and GenXers can coexist in the same workplace. Yet other religious mystics perceive the Cosmos, that is, the totality of finite things (the body of the World Soul). Email: filosofer@gmail.com Thus, it has been observed that identist religious pluralism (see 2e below) is essentially a Hindu position, and closely resembles Advaita Vendanta thought. What are the 7 key areas of diversity and their characteristics? The Global Religious Landscape | Pew Research Center All religions are equal? Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, including the U.S. 70% of Americans attend a religious service monthly. Since the latter twentieth century many Roman Catholic theologians have explored non-exclusivist options. "Exploring the Impact of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - LinkedIn (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. What Is Religion? Defining the Characteristics of Religion Diversity, Divisions, Religion, Caste, Secularism, News, Theocratic states, Terrorism, Fundamentalism, Extremism, Congress, BJP, Communism. 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. A Dynamic Unity in Religious Pluralism: A Proposal from the Buddhist Point of View., Bogardus, Tomas. Another, without saying that people may be saved through membership in them, affirms various positive values in other religions, including true teachings, which serve as divinely ordained preparations for reception the gospel. With truth, the problem is that it is hard to see how the core claims of the religions could all be true.