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. What Exactly is Meant by "Religious Diversity"? The Epistemological Challenge of Religious Pluralism., Ignatius of Antioch, The Letter of Ignatius to the Philadelphians, in, King, Nathan. 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. It offers a fall from primordial spirituality into modern spiritual poverty, cured by adopting the outlook sketched above. What Is Religion? Defining the Characteristics of Religion Presumably not, as she already believes in levels of truth and levels of reality. (Byrne 2004; Feuerbach 1967). Religion in Colonial America: Trends, Regulations, and Beliefs Heim strenuously objects to pluralist theories that they impose uniformity on the various 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. Race Race is a protected characteristic that refers to an individual's race, colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins. (Abe 1985). 2013, 333-40) Theologically liberal Protestants most often hold on to some form of religious pluralism. (Legenhausen 2002) Those who believe the ultimate reality to be a unique god object to Smiths view that the ultimate reality is ineffable, and so not, in itself, a god. 1928) and Paul Knitter (b. And how can the ultimist pluralist demand such changes? Recently called restrictivism, this position insists that explicit knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation, and there is no hope for those who die without having heard the gospel. 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. These three Creativity, God, Cosmos are such that none could exist without the others. This diversity is increasing, even in communities that have previously been relatively homogeneous. Though naive pluralisms are not common amongst scholars in relevant fields, they are important to mention because they are entertained by many people as they begin to reflect on religious diversity. This type of diversity refers to the presence of multiple religions and spiritual beliefs (including lack thereof) in the workplace. 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). As explained above (section 3c) a major impetus for this has been statements issued by the latest official council (Vatican II, 1962-5). 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. Cultural Diversity: Definition & Meaning | Purdue Global 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, 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 . 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. (McDermott and Netland 2014) Other Protestants choose forms of inclusivism similar to Rahners (see 4b below). The religious composition and social context varies considerably by generation. (Legenhausen 2006, 2009). One may object that this above proposal is counter to the equalizing spirit of pluralism. Spiritual and Religious Diversity | Consumer Enablement Guide (On the majority inclusivism, see section 4b below.) (Peterson et. 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. But these monotheists and cosmos-worshipers each take their object to be ultimate, and would deny the existence of any further back entity or non-entity, that is, of Creativity. Hick realizes the incoherence of dubbing all religions true, for they have core teachings that conflict, and most religions are not shy about pointing out such conflicts. 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. (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. Instead, it is the view that all religions are valid, meaning that they have some degree of (some kind of) value. Spiritual and Religious Diversity Religious and spiritual beliefs can be a personal determinant of enablement. How DIVERSE Are the Religions? - Religion 101 For example, millennials, GenZers and GenXers can coexist in the same workplace. Hinduism., de Cea, Abraham Vlez. It is a mistake, he now holds, to suppose that the personae (that is, Vishnu, Yahweh, Allah, and so on) are angel-like selves. 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. Age diversity Age diversity means working with people of different ages and, most importantly, generations. However, such a person is probably only thinking of large, respectable, and historically important religions. 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. Some theorized, for instance, that a baptism of blood, that is, martyrdom, would be enough to save unbaptized catechumens. 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. Exclusivism, Pluralism, and Anarchy.. same? While some characteristics of diversity include age, gender, the color of the skin. 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 exclusivist-inclusivist-pluralist trichotomy has become standard since the 1980s. Religion and religion diversity are expressed by believers to cause strong opinions and emotions in all environments. Since the latter twentieth century many Roman Catholic theologians have explored non-exclusivist options. "Exploring the Impact of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - LinkedIn 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. 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. (Griffin 2005a) They do, however, take seriously at least many of the unusual religious experiences people report. (Sharma 1990) This modern Hindu outlook has proven difficult to formulate in any clear way. (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. Differing people, perspectives, topics, ideas, etc. sexual orientation. Legenhausen, Hajj Muhammad [Gary Carl]. In modern times, it tries to equalize other religions in the same ways it equalizes the apparently contrary claims and practices internal to it. Other Buddhists experience Amida Buddha, while Christians experience Christ, and Jews Yahweh, Hindus Isvara, and Muslims Allah. 3, 3-4). (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. 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 . (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. (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. A comprehensive demographic study of more than 230 countries and territories conducted by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life estimates that there are 5.8 billion religiously affiliated adults and children around the globe, representing 84% of the 2010 world population of 6.9 billion. We could loosely paraphrase Hicks view as being that all religions are false, not that all their teachings are false (for there is much ethical and practical agreement among them), but rather that their core claims about the main object of religious experience and pursuit equally contain falsehoods. The 7 Main Characteristics of Religion | Life Persona 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. The Equality Act replicates the provisions of previous legislation. 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. Religious Diversity | Encyclopedia.com For instance, as an inclusivist Christian, Heim holds that Buddhists really do attain Nirvana. 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. (Smith 1992, 2003 ch. 1933) and English convert to Islam, Martin Lings (1909-2005) who was a biographer of Muhammad. On such a metaphysics, any apparent substance (being, entity) turns out to be one or more events or processes. 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. | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples Such would be the work of a religiously embedded and committed theology of religious diversity, not of a general philosophy of religious diversity. Roy, however, always retained his Hindu and Brahmin identities. Equally, Advaita Vedanta Hindus must let go of their insistence on Nirguna Brahman as ultimate. Why Diversity in Religion is Important - SelfGrowth.com pregnancy and maternity. 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 . This patient's religious beliefs have led him to pursue mindfulness and meditation as ways of . (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. This naive pluralism is refuted by accurate information on religious differences. 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. At the highest level there is only Emptiness, the ultimate. 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. 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. Moreover, some influential modern Hindu leaders have adopted a complicated rhetoric of universal religion, which often assumes some sort of religious pluralism. Religious Diversity - World Atlas of Global Issues - Sciences Po Must the Mahayanist make any significant revision to accept the proposed threefold reality of Emptiness, gods, and lords? Religious and spiritual understanding and beliefs about medicine and healthcare may support or conflict with evidence-based medicine. 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. Finally, Hick revises his view: the monotheistic gods people experience are mental projections in response to the Real, and not real selves, but since religious people really do encounter great selves in religious experience, we should posit personal intermediaries between humans and the Real, with whom religious people interact. Methodology | Pew Research Center Wide distances, poor communication and transportation, bad weather, and the clerical shortage dictated religious variety from town to town and from region to region. Ethnic or national origins include, for OConnor, Timothy. Equality, diversity and inclusion in the Workplace - CIPD Others dissent because they accept the incompatible diagnosis and cure taught by some other religion, such as the ones found in Islam or Christianity. 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. (OConnor 1999) This exclusivism is compatible with both exclusivism and inclusivism in this article. Although many traditional Protestant Christians hold some form of exclusivism, others favor an inclusivism much like Rahners. It is a mistake, Abe holds, to regard any god as ultimate, and monotheists must revise their understanding as above, if true inter-religious dialogue and peace are to be achievable. (Hick 2004; Quinn and Meeker 2000) Hicks approach is original, thorough, and informed by a broad and deep knowledge of many religions. 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). Starting as a traditional, non-pluralistic Christian, Hick attended religious meetings and studied with people of other religions. 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. 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. But these lesser ways should and eventually will give way to Christianity, the truest religion, intended for all humankind. Exploring the trend in religious diversity: Based on the geographical What values are at issue? race. 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. The rest of the population is made up of folk religions (5.3%), Buddhists (0.6%), and Jews (.2%). (Legenhausen 2002). 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. Furthermore, Hindu thought has shifted in modern times from a scriptural to an experiential emphasis. 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. 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. Judaism is . the coexistence of various perspectives (political, religious), backgrounds (racial/ethnic, sexual orientation, nationality) gender) variety. (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. The degree of religious diversity in the US is also reflected in Americans' core social networks. All such religious mystics really perceive a personal, supreme God, understood panentheistically, as being in the cosmos, akin to how a soul is in a body. It is impossible that all three experiences are veridical. (Legenhausen 2009), The term religious pluralism is almost always used for a theory asserting positive value for many or most religions. Religious Pluralism: Generic, Identist, Deep., Griffin, David Ray. They hope that each religion can, while remaining distinct, begin to construct global theologies, influenced by the truths and values of other religions. Here we can survey only a few of the criticisms that have been made. 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. 3. 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. Social scientists have conceived of diversity in a variety of ways, including the degree to which a society is split into distinct groups; minority group size (in share and/or absolute number); minority group influence (the degree to which multiple groups are visible and influential in civil society); and group dominance (the degree to which one
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