The Challenge Of Religious Diversity

A number of approaches to religious diversity has been discussed in class namely: Exclusivism, Inclusivism, Postmodernism, Pluralism, Contextualism, etc. After thoroughly examining the various universal and non-universal ways of approaching religious diversity, I have come to the conclusion that the universal approach of exclusivism is the best approach to confidently assert my religious perspective, while dealing with the variety of religions that exist. The choice was made over Inclusivism, Postmodernism, Pluralism and Contextualism. The limitation of these approaches shall be weighed against my preferred approach which is Exclusivism.

Thesis: In his book, No god but God, Reza Aslan recounts the history and teachings of Islam in order to deconstruct the barriers within interreligious comprehension.

America is considered to be one of the most tolerant and diverse countries in the world compared to others. However, Americans as individuals, are highly intolerant of each other’s beliefs and racial background. We are all not as accepting of each other as we claim to be. Race and religion are amongst a plethora of examples on how diversity in America can be intolerable.

As of today, Christianity and Islam are the world’s two largest and rapidly growing religions. They share an estimated 3.6 billion followers, more than half of the world’s population. Initially the two religions may seem to have nothing in common, but when you go beyond the surface and examine the rituals, beliefs, and founders, as well as the spread of both religions, they share many similarities. In many ways, there is irony in tension between Christianity and Islam, given the extremely similar history and nature of their religions. It is perhaps lost on many people who subscribe to these religions that there is no more truth to one than the other. But when observed from an objective viewpoint it is undeniable that both Christianity and Islam are remarkably similar in origin and ideology. In order to see and understand their similarities, it is important to look back to the birth and rise of both religions.

For most of the 20th Century, America’s Faith Community enjoyed the luxury of reposeful sanctuary within their Houses of Worship. Such places were considered “off limits” for acts of crime and mayhem by most Americans. Reality often mirrored this anticipation. Even the criminal element looked with great disdain upon those victimizing churches and synagogues. However, immunity to the problems slowly began to deteriorate. The lawless began to view holy and sacred locations as merely wealthy soft targets overseen by the forgiving and the naive. The general respect that was once accustomed from American culture started to erode as well; only exasperating the situation. By 2001, the reality that world level terrorism could also

Pluralism is found in many ancient Indian traditions including Jainism, Buddhism, and the Advaitic interpretation of the Upaniṣads and the Bhagavad Gītā. Each tradition’s core values internally ground non-violence. In all of these traditions there is a multiplicity of world views and individual needs, overcome by a common goal of breaking free from bondage to reach enlightenment. At face value, these traditions appear to have opposing metaphysics. While the conceptions of what is achieved by freedom from bondage differ in form, these traditions all recognize a pluralism of paths to a common goal. This not only promotes tolerance, but transcends this to reach a fuller form of respect. It should be clarified that this respect does not, however, mean that these views are entirely tolerant or relativistic. These conceptions of pluralism simply require that each view must considered as one of the many sights which potentially have some truth to

As the subtitle of American Grace suggests, religion can either unite us or it can divide us. Examples throughout history have shown that religion has the power to create a strong united front and there are also examples that have shown how religion has the ability to carve a dividing line. Religious pluralism in the United States can be seen as both a blessing and a curse.

Within the past couple of weeks, I had the opportunity to engage in a religious minority event. I attended the Hillel Jewish Center here on Purdue’s campus. Hillel is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, and I found it very fascinating that I got to take part in this new learning experience. I am from a small town where everyone knows everyone, and there is very little diversity in race or ethnic groups. I was raised in a Christian family and I attended church every Sunday. I have never been around such diversity until I came to Purdue. Through my education classes, and the events that I have attended on campus my cultural knowledge has grown so much since I first started attending Purdue. I had very little knowledge of the

I was apart of the debate arguing that American separation of church and state and tolerance for religious expressions in politics, is the best way to manage religious differences in politics. As societies modernize, new religious groups emerge, thus giving people greater religious choice. Within the United States, one can choose from a wide variety of world religions and feel free to express their religion openly within social culture, unlike in privatized countries such as France. The main example of a fully denominational system is the United States. The U.S. accepts the concept of religious pluralism. This pluralism is important in the U.S.’s strive to maintain the separation of church and state. Over the longer term, societies like the

. Religious diversity in America alone is too great to justify one sector determining the lawfulness or morality of anyone else’s beliefs. There are several practices that are not allowed by various religions, yet they are not outlawed. For example, The Jewish and Muslim faiths do not permit the consumption of pork, but anyone can still go to the supermarket and buy bacon. Catholics are not allowed by their faith to use contraception but condoms and birth control pills are still available to whomever wants them. So, many views of human cloning are influenced by

The South has been experiencing a lot of religious diversity. Specifically in Tennessee, there has been a lot of religious diversity. There have been protests to prayers before football games and bans high school banners with Bible verses on them. Religion experts say that the South is just now catching up to the religious diversity that the rest of the world has been experiencing. The amount of Muslim families has increased a significant amount in the past 46 years. There are many other religions in different parts of the world that people have inherited from family members and continued on with religious family traditions and passing it on from generation to generation.

In the excerpt titled “Christian Leadership in a Pluralistic World”, Richard Mau discusses the idea of teaching as a form of leadership. Mau says, “leading and educating… go hand in hand” (p.128-129). I plan on becoming a teacher, and am studying for a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies. As I spend my time at Westmont College developing the skills necessary to be a teacher, I seek not only to use what I learn in the classroom, but also the experiences I have in my time outside of class as lessons that I can apply to my teaching career. Throughout my college experience I strive to meet objectives that help me develop intellectually, spiritually and socially in the hopes that they will help me to become a teacher and leader.

The modern society is a highly pluralistic society. Rapid transmission of information in the modern era and the ability of people to travel around the world on a larger scale has created awareness that the world and the modern society has a multitude of diverse and contrasting viewpoints on a variety of issues. This pluralism is evident in the realm of religion than in any other realm. Human awareness of the existence of the many religions in the world, today, is unprecedented. Christians are aware of the existence of many other smaller religions apart from the mainstream Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism.

I am certainly on the side, where i believe religious diversity and religious influence is not good for united states as a nation. I clearly believe that if one nation wants to be in union and synchronized with one another they should believe in one thing. I believe that religion can not be used in politics in general. As we all know there are many forms of religions in the world such as christianity, islam, judaism, buddhism, and etc. I am not stating that everyone in the united states should be believe in christ and become a christian or believe in allah and become muslim but to all believe that church and state should not influence each other. I believe that if we all can agree that church and state should not affect each other that we would

“American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us,” by Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell, and “America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity,” by Robert Wuthnow, give different thoughts to religion and politics in the United States. Putnam and Campbell utilize the concepts of shocks and aftershocks to highlight religious changes in the United States. On the other hand, Wuthnow uses observations to focus on the encounters of religious diversity in the United States. Wuthnow compares American Christianity with other popular religions in America and how Christianity has affected the perception of religion. Putnam and Campbell’s “American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us” is a more persuasive assessment of American religion and politics.