characteristics of religious diversity

Although you may be nervous about broaching the subject, it is important to discuss religious diversity so . 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. Insofar as they in good conscience practice what is good in their religion, people in other religions receive Gods grace and are anonymous Christians, people who are being saved through Christ, though they do not realize it. (Prothero 2010, 13-6; Yandell 1999, 16-9), Scholarly study of a wide range of religions, and comparison and evaluation of them, was to a large extent pioneered by Christian missionaries in the nineteenth century seeking to understand those whom they sought to convert. An informed Christian must concede that Jews and Muslims too believe this, and that they teach it as a central doctrine. 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. Unfortunately, it is often used with some mix of the above values in mind, leaving it unclear exactly which values are pertinent. ), which argues that previous versions of Buddhist teaching were mere expedient means, that is, non-truths taught because in his great wisdom, the Buddha knew that at its then immature stage, humanity would be aided only by those teachings. (Byrne 2004; Feuerbach 1967). The historical Buddha, the man Gautama is, in this doctrine, a Transformation Body (or Apparitional Body, Nirmanakaya) of one of these, as are other Buddhas in time and space. Although many traditional Protestant Christians hold some form of exclusivism, others favor an inclusivism much like Rahners. 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). Such theologians, prominently Hans Kng (b. 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. An ethnic group refers to people who are closely related to each other through characteristics such as culture, language, and religion. 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. Diversity, Divisions, Religion, Caste, Secularism, News, Theocratic states, Terrorism, Fundamentalism, Extremism, Congress, BJP, Communism. Religious difference has become a factor in local and global conflicts and peace building. (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. They hope that each religion can, while remaining distinct, begin to construct global theologies, influenced by the truths and values of other religions. 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. (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. 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. It is not hard to find religions or religious cults which would not plausibly be thought of as good in the way(s) that a pluralist has in mind. 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. 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. (Dupuis 2000, 91-2). An improvement upon naive pluralism acknowledges differences in all the aspects of religions, but separates peripheral from core differences. Given that it is ineffable, this Being is neither a god, nor the God of monotheism. Others dissent because they accept the incompatible diagnosis and cure taught by some other religion, such as the ones found in Islam or Christianity. 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. Diversity in religion is one of the world's strengths, not one of its weaknesses. Contrary to widespread depictions of religious blocs of uniform practices, values and concerns, it is essential to emphasize the plurality of . Roy, however, always retained his Hindu and Brahmin identities. (Hick 2004, ch. From African Americans to Russian Americans . race. 1928) and Paul Knitter (b. 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. 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. Some characteristics of religion are the worship of gods or prophets, beliefs in a system of norms and values, symbology or places of worship. On the other hand, others seem to make little or no sense outside the context of the home religion, and others are simply incompatible. In all these ways, they argue that their ultimist pluralism is superior to other pluralisms. The following are the characteristics of diversity: Linguistic Diversity Regional Diversity Religious Diversity Linguistic Diversity Importantly, he construes the various religious goals as experiences obtaining in this life and continuing beyond. (Dupuis 2001; Burton 2010), Historically, Jewish intellectuals have usually adopted an inclusivist rather than an exclusivist view about other religions. Religious and spiritual understanding and beliefs about medicine and healthcare may support or conflict with evidence-based medicine. However, he thought that it is arbitrary and indefensible to hold that only ones own experiences or the experiences of those in ones group are veridical, while those of people in other religions are not. Further, Hick presupposes the correctness of recent socially liberal ethics, for example, sexual liberation, and thus rules out as inessential to any religion any conflicting ethical demands. 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. Hinduism., de Cea, Abraham Vlez. Religious Pluralism and the Some-Are-Equally-Right View., Yandell, Keith. Wouldnt this be to attribute more reality to God than shes willing to? This, he will not do. Protected characteristics | Equality and Human Rights Commission 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. the coexistence of various perspectives (political, religious), backgrounds (racial/ethnic, sexual orientation, nationality) gender) variety. 1939), have formulated various pluralist theories. A Dynamic Unity in Religious Pluralism: A Proposal from the Buddhist Point of View., Bogardus, Tomas. 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. Sometimes God and Cosmos are described as aspects of Creativity. PDF How would you define diversity? - UNC Gillings School of Global Public (Griffin 2005a) They do, however, take seriously at least many of the unusual religious experiences people report. (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. Such a person is outside of the tradition, yet obtains the cure taught by the tradition. An uninformed person, noting certain commonalities of religious belief and practice, may suppose that all religions are the same, namely, that there are no significant differences between religious traditions. (Hick 1982 ch. (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. 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. You are protected under the Equality Act 2010 from these types of discrimination. 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. But since early modern times, increasing information from travel, publishing, and emigration have forced thoughtful people to reflect more deeply on religious diversity. We should respect freedom of religion by rejecting the kinds of false and damaging claims that are sometimes made about religion, especially Islam. Religious Diversity Around The World | Pew Research Center A vast diversity of religious and spiritual traditions exists, and your clients may be affiliated with any of them. This, it is hoped, rules out anyone having grounds for believing any particular religion to be the uniquely best religion. (Sometimes, however, Hick makes the weaker claim that were unable to pick any religion as best at effecting this transformation.) (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. 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? Furthermore, Hindu thought has shifted in modern times from a scriptural to an experiential emphasis. Religious Diversity, Theories of | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Peterson et. Paradoxically, such pluralism is often expressed along with claims that Hinduism is greatly superior in various ways to other religions. This unified consistency may be hoped for in terms of truth, or in terms of practice. For instance, as an inclusivist Christian, Heim holds that Buddhists really do attain Nirvana. Presumably not, as she already believes in levels of truth and levels of reality. This led to both the questioning and the defense of various exclusivist traditional Christian claims. The nation's population is growing more racially and ethnically diverse - and so are many of its religious groups, both at the congregational level and among broader Christian traditions.But a new analysis of data from the 2014 Religious Landscape Study also finds that these levels of diversity vary widely within U.S. religious groups.. We looked at 30 groups - including Protestant . (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. Judaism and Other Faiths., Datta, Narendra [Swami Vivekananda]. Smith holds that in former ages, and among primitive peoples now, such a worldview is near universal. They hypothesize that some religious mystics really do perceive (without using ordinary sense organs) some ultimate (that is, something regarded as ultimate). Religious Pluralism., Schmidt-Leukel, Perry. What are the 7 key areas of diversity and their characteristics? Religion in Colonial America: Trends, Regulations, and Beliefs (McDermott and Netland 2014) Other Protestants choose forms of inclusivism similar to Rahners (see 4b below). gender reassignment. And how can the ultimist pluralist demand such changes? Similarly, in Christianity, one must realize that ones self is a sinner in need of Gods grace. This would be the view of many naturalists, who hold that all religions are the product of human imagination, and fail to have most or all of the values claimed for them. These qualities include but are not limited to: being humble, reasonable, kind, broad-minded, open-minded, informed, cosmopolitan, modern, properly appreciative of difference, non-bigoted, tolerant, being opposed to proselytizing (attempts to convince those outside the religion to convert to it), anti-colonialist, and anti-imperialist. This is not compatible with his thesis that Vishnu and others are phenomena of the Real, that is, culturally conditioned ways that the Real appears to us. (For others see Hick 2004, Introduction.). Inclusivism for some authors just means a friendlier or more open-minded exclusivism. (Hick 2000, 2004), As to Hicks idea that the correlation of birthplace and religious belief somehow undermines the rationality of religious belief, it has been pointed out that religious pluralism too is correlated with birthplace. (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. The most and least racially diverse U.S. religious groups This encompasses the idea that physical reality, the terrestrial plane, is contained within and controlled by a more real intermediate plane (that is, the subtle, animic, or psychic plane) which is in turn contained and controlled by the celestial plane. More Empathy This transformation, Hick theorizes, is really the point of religion. Race Race is a protected characteristic that refers to an individual's race, colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins. Judaism is . (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. Spiritual and Religious Diversity | Consumer Enablement Guide Cultivating Awareness of Religious and Spiritual Diversity : a critical examination of some formulations of the Neo-Hindu position., Smith, Huston. 1919) In his view, the common core of religions is a tiered worldview. All the major religions, then, are really oriented towards, and involve the experience of some reality regarded as ultimate (Creativity, God, or Cosmos). 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. The Politics and Practice of Religious Diversity engages with one of the most characteristic features of modern society. (McDermott and Netland 2014, 148) But these are sometimes tempered with loopholes such as: a universal chance to hear the gospel at or after death, a free pass to people who die before the age of accountability, or the view that less was required to be saved in pre-Christian times. People over age 40 are more likely to identify with a religion or engage in religious practices. It is far from clear that Heim is correct that this stance will be consistent with the claims of the home religion. Hick doesnt argue for the salvific or cure-delivering equality of all religions. Why Diversity in Religion is Important - SelfGrowth.com 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. Still other Catholic theologians have found these moves to be positive but not nearly different enough from the more pessimistic sort of exclusivism. marriage and civil partnership. (Dupuis 2000, 165-170) A key area of disagreement is whether or not these imply that a person may be saved by means of their participation in some other religion. (Krkkinen 2003; Netland 2001) The most famous of these has been the view (held by some Christians) that all non-Christians are doomed to an eternity of conscious suffering in hell. A plurality of different religions, major and minor, exist in the world, each believing different things. (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. For example, both Christians and Buddhists have adopted religious-diversity-celebrating rhetoric while clearly denying anything described above in this article as a kind of pluralism about religious diversity. 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. Moreover, some influential modern Hindu leaders have adopted a complicated rhetoric of universal religion, which often assumes some sort of religious pluralism. The Problem of Contingency for Religious Belief,, Byrne, Peter. Exclusivism, Pluralism, and Anarchy.. In his earlier writings, monotheistic concerns seem important. But these lesser ways should and eventually will give way to Christianity, the truest religion, intended for all humankind. 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. 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. (Prothero 2010). What Is Cultural Diversity And Why Is It Important? - University of the 3. Thus, it has been observed that identist religious pluralism (see 2e below) is essentially a Hindu position, and closely resembles Advaita Vendanta thought. Physical appearance becomes a way of allowing particular groups of people to feel that they are . What values are at issue? Monotheistic religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam agree that there is a sole God. Consider the claim that the cosmos was intentionally made. The Epistemological Challenge of Religious Pluralism., Ignatius of Antioch, The Letter of Ignatius to the Philadelphians, in, King, Nathan. 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. 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. These ideas, and the fact that religious belief is strongly correlated with birthplace, convinced him that the facts of religious diversity pose irresolvable problems for any exclusivist or inclusivist view, leaving only some form of pluralism as a viable option. 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. 2013, 333-40) Theologically liberal Protestants most often hold on to some form of religious pluralism. 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. A Primer on Diversity - Resources Religious Diversity in Classrooms - Video & Lesson Transcript - Study.com Moreover, it seems a necessary truth that if the concept personal doesnt apply to the Real, then the concept non-personal must apply to it.

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