Religious Pluralism

"It is widely felt that disagreements must be settled by compromises. In matters of ultimate commitment this seems impossible; so the existence of differences here is a special problem. But there is another possibility. If we understand that none of us know everything, we may find that our ultimate commitment encourages us to grow in knowledge. Perhaps we can learn most from people with different commitments. Instead of thinking that the more we learn from others the less faithful we are to our own tradition, we may find that the more faithful we are to our own tradition, the more open we are to learning from others. Deep religious pluralism thinks this way, and Matthew LoPresti has explained this way of thinking rigorously and comprehensively. We owe him a great debt. Matthew LoPresti is emerging as an important voice in the discourse of religious pluralism, an area of pressing importance for the future of humanity in an era in which cooperation across cultural boundaries has become a matter of survival. We live in a world today in which competing ideologies-especially religious, social, and political-are fostering in society a distrust, dislike, and denigration of all those who have differing beliefs and values. One of the more divisive ideological forms elevates one's own religious views as the only one that is True, while all others are false at best. In contrast to such beliefs, various philosophers and theologians have promoted their own concepts of pluralism. In discussing these, Matt LoPresti focuses on the broader concept and considers ways it has been understood and misunderstood, used and misused. He then both lays out his own approach, in which he seeks a ""rehabilitation of the term pluralism,"" as a means toward replacing divisiveness with dialogue, harmony, and peace. A good read for anyone who thinks we need to start accepting and learning from each other before our society totally falls apart."