Religious Diversity What S The Problem

Exploring Religious Diversity analyzes the philosophicalquestions raised by the fact that many religions in the world oftenappear to contradict each other in doctrine and practice. Analyzes the philosophical questions raised by the fact thatmany religions in the world often appear to contradict each otherin doctrine and practice. Evaluates the fundamental philosophical underpinnings of thedebates between religious and non-religious approaches to religiousdiversity. Contains a glossary that defines the book's key technical termsand how they are related to one another.

Once upon a time, on grounds of both religion and common sense, people assumed that the earth was flat and that the sun literally rose and set each day. When newly developing knowledge made those beliefs untenable, giving them up was difficult. Today the belief that only one of the world's various religions is true for all people on earth is equivalent to the belief in a flat earth. Both notions have become untenable, given contemporary knowledge about religion. Even though many people are still troubled by the existence of religious diversity today, that diversity is a fact of life. Religious diversity should be no more troubling to religious people than the fact that the earth is round and circles the sun. This provocative book, based on the author's longtime practice of Buddhism and comparative study of religion, provides tools with which one can truly appreciate religious diversity as a gift and resource rather than as a deficiency or a problem to be overcome. After we accept diversity as inevitable and become comfortable with it, diversity always enriches life--both nature and culture.

The Politics and Practice of Religious Diversity engages with one of the most characteristic features of modern society. 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 belief systems. This edited collection of specially-commissioned chapters provides an unrivalled geographical coverage and multidisciplinary treatment of the socio-political processes and institutional practices provoked by, and associated with, religious diversity. Alongside chapters treating religious diversity in the ‘BRIC’ countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China, are contributions which discuss Australia, Finland, Mexico, South Africa, the UK, and the United States. This book provides an accessible, distinctive and timely treatment of a topic which is inextricably linked with modern society’s progressively diverse and global trajectory. Written and structured as an accessible volume for the student reader, this book is of immediate interest to both academics and laypersons working in mainstream and political sociology, sociology of religion, human geography, politics, area studies, migration studies and religious studies.

Religious diversity exists whenever seemingly sincere, knowledgeable individuals hold incompatible beliefs on the same religious issue. Diversity of this sort is pervasive, existing not only across basic theistic systems but also within these theistic systems themselves. Religious Diversity explores the breadth and significance of such conflict. Examining the beliefs of various theistic systems, particularly within Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism, Basinger discusses seemingly incompatible claims about many religious issues, including the nature of God and the salvation of humankind. He considers particularly the work of Hick, Gellman, Plantinga, Schellenberg, Alston, Wainwright, and Quinn, applying their perspectives on 'exclusivism' and 'pluralism' as they become relevant to the issues in question. Basinger's survey of the relevant literature, proposed solutions, and fresh insights offer an invaluable contribution not only for philosophers of religion and philosophical theologians but for anyone interested in the increasingly significant question of what a religious believer can or cannot justifiably say about their religious perspective.

While religion can be a source of healing, peace, and reconciliation, it can also be a trigger, if not an underlying cause, for conflict between peoples of varying beliefs. With that awareness, the International Academy of Practical Theology convened its 2007 meeting around the theme of "Religion, Diversity, and Conflict." From the multiple seminars, lectures, and studies presented at that meeting, a selection was chosen for this book. Representing contributions from four continents, and drawing upon perspectives from African traditional religions, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, the book offers a rich introduction to the problems and promises of religion in dialogue with 21st-century diversity. Religion, Diversity and Conflict will serve as a veritable primer on the field of practical theology. (Series: International Practical Theology - Vol. 15)

Can Christian belief be warranted? Can someone hold to Christian exclusivism even in the face of mutually exclusive religious belief systems? In contemporary philosophy of religion there has been much debate about whether the diversity of mutually exclusive religious beliefs is a good reason to give up any form of religious exclusivism. Amidst this discussion, the Christian exclusivist claims that the tenets of Christianity are true, and mutually exclusive religious views are false. Opponents of Christian belief argue, however, that the diversity of mutually exclusive religious beliefs is a good reason to give up one's Christian exclusivism. This is the problem of religious diversity for Christian exclusivism. In this book, Joseph Kim defends Christian belief in conversation with the problem of religious diversity and argues that mutually exclusive religious beliefs do not serve as defeaters for Christian belief. Kim engages Alvin Plantinga's proper function account of warrant and argues that the Christian exclusivist need not give up her Christian belief when faced with the problem of religious diversity even when she is unable to give an argument for the truth of Christian belief to those that disagree. This book also explores the areas surrounding the problem of religious diversity and serves as a good introduction to the central issues that intersect contemporary epistemology and the philosophy of religion.

This open access book provides an analysis of contemporary societies and schools shaped by cultural diversity, globalization and migration. This diversity is necessarily reflected in education systems and requires the promotion of intercultural approaches able to improve learning processes and the quality of education. From an international and comparative perspective, this book first presents theoretical and conceptual foundations for seriously considering cultural diversity. The book also compares intercultural approaches and debates generated in countries as diverse as the United States, Canada, Brazil, Switzerland and France. For each national context, the book addresses both the historical roots of intercultural approaches and the concrete initiatives driven by educational policies for their implementation in schools and classrooms. Finally, the book presents discussions surrounding the treatment of linguistic or religious diversity in schools, the emergence of global citizenship education and the key role of teachers in intercultural approaches. This is an open access book.

Could lessons from Asia, Oceania and the Middle East help Europe overcome the challenge of religious diversity? Religious diversity is one of the toughest challenges that today's European societies face in their search for identity, equality and cohesion in an increasingly globalised world. This book engages critically with the different models and approaches for managing religion adopted in Europe, Asia and Oceania in order to seek answers to this pressing normative, conceptual and policy issue.