theology - pluralism and society:

what are multi-faith societies?

societies where there are significant populations of people with different religious beliefs

what are the different reasons for the development of multi-faith societies?

• globalisation

• post-enlightenment mindset

• migration

what is globalisation?

increasing interconnectedness of global society

what is globalisation economically and socially?

• Economically – used to refer to ease of cross-boarder transactions and de-regulation of trade restrictions between countries 

• Socially – by the way in which human lifestyles influence each other 

 

what is an example of cultural globalisation?

western culture such as music, fashion and media has been exported and adopted from places such as China, India, Japan and Korea

how is globalisation often facilitated through politics?

Often facilitated through politics e.g. liberalisation of laws which make travel and free trade comparatively easy  

who defined globalisation deterritorisation?

Andrew Crane and Derek Matten

what is the impact of detteritorisation?

means that religious knowledge and belief systems are not isolated to particular cultures and geographical locations but as reencountered locally and often literally next door to each other e.g. Southhall  

how is Southall an example?

population of over 55% Indian or Pakistani includes 10 Sikh Gurdwaras, 10 Christian Chruches, 3 Mosques, 2 Hindu Mandirs and a Buddhist Vihara

what does Micheal Barnes argue the issues are with globalisation?

destructive phenomenon, Micheal Barnes suggests that behind romantic images conjured by multi-faith societies about their identity and beliefs – how to preserve these beliefs  

what does Post-Enlightenment refer to?

to the 18th century thinkers such as Hume, Rosseau and Kant who argued that knowledge could only be obtained through human reason and observation and not through divine revelation or other authorities

how was the post-enlightenment mindset influential?

emphasis on tolerance and human rights – since the 18^th century, western societies developed values based on human reason and experience, not religion or revealed knowledge  

Post-Enlightenment societies have established what Pinker called the 'humanitarian principle' - proposal that humans get on better when each person practices but the interest of others  

what is a key precept of the post-Enlightenment mindset?

not judge a person's lifestyle unless it is harmful -> harm principle  

Western societies regard religion as a lifestyle choice as it is not for society to distinguish the truth of religions if they contribute to societal welfare  

what has the humanitarian principle led to?

Tolerance is based on humanitarian principle has led to the development of multi-faith societies – although society may tolerate religions as lifestyle, for believers adherence is living according to basic convictions about truth. 

what are some reasons as to why people may migrate?

economic improvement, family reunification and safety

how is Southall an example of migration?

many people migrated from the Indian subcontinent, migrated to Britian in the middle of the 20^th century from former colonies. During WW2, many Jews fled Nazi Germany and settled in Britian and since then there have been refugees and asylum seekers from parts of Africa and Eastern Europe. During the earlier part of the 20^th century, Southall also experienced an influx of Welsh and Polish people seeking work.  

 

what is the result of migration?

Result is not just the proliferation of non-Christian religions, particularly Islam and Hinduism, but also different forms of Christian practice, such as evangelical Pentecostal Christianity from Afro-Carribean communities and Roman Catholicism from Poland.  

how does migration pose challenges for mainstream church denominations?

e.g. established Christian communities can no longer assume they are the primary provider of religious needs.  

Micheal Barnes – situation for some established Christian communities can sometimes feel overwhelming  

→ ‘in the muddle of such chaos of human religiosity, the mainstream Christian churches can be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed’

what is the significance of the word ‘other’?

has a wide range of meaning but it still has a very useful part to play in developing the purpose of contemporary inter-faith dialogue

• without the other Christianity may not have developed its own distinctiveness and range of beliefs

how can it be argued that other can be used in a positive way?

although often used negatively it may also be used positively to acknowledge that there are multiple interpretations of the world that exist

why are the multiple interpretations necessary?

in challenging oneself to develop a deeper understanding of her own beliefs

what did Jacques Derrida call this view?

differance

what is differance?

idea developed by Jaques Derrida to describe the open-ended nature of the world. it suggests that meaning is never ‘closed off; meaning continues and develops

• meanings are not absolute but differed

what happens when the 'other’ is applied as differance to other religious beliefs?

purpose of dialogue becomes a creative process of mutual understanding

what is othering?

represents the negative aspect of treating people as the ‘other’

→ reduces people to objects and limits their existence by defining and categorising them as outsiders

→ is a source of racism and sexism

what is inter-faith dialogue?

the co-operative and creative process by which people of different religious faiths meet and exchange ideas in order to understand each others belief system

what does inter-faith dialogue do at its most optimistic?

hopes to overcome prejudices which are often the causes of racism, sexism, violence and war

why does interfaith dialogue need a theological structure?

would have little meaning or purpose - besides finding out what a person of a non-Christian religion beliefs, the notion of dialogue as open-ended and co-operative would be limited

what would happen if inter-faith dialogue was to develop support of faith communities against secularism?

would lack any critical appreciation of what makes religion distinctive and different

what does interfaith dialogue need to have a dynamic purpose?

has to be fully integrated within a theology of religion

why is it difficult to think of the purpose interfaith dialogue would serve RAE?

would see dialogue as an opportunity to introduce others to the Gospel with the hope of conversion, not possible to know who the elect are so it is a Christian duty to use all opportunities to bring people into direct contact with Christianity. If this objective is clearly understood by non-Christians, then dialogue is possible as based on honesty and integrity.  

why is UAE different?

UAE share this desire but consider that for dialogue to be genuine, there has to be respect for those we treat as the other -> means acknowledging that the truth of God's revelation is not restricted to Christianity because as Vatican II taught the Catholic church accepts that non-Christian religions 'often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens everyone'

how does RCC see inter-faith dialogue?

Since Vatican II, Roman Catholicism has seen inter-faith dialogue as a means of increased respect and understanding, which is fundamental to the Chruch's desire to develop its pastoral care of all people  

what does Micheal Barnes say about inter-faith dialogue?

Micheal Barnes – inter-faith dialogue is a more 'risky option' for Christians as it necessarily means that those involved will have to question the teaching of the church past and present. Requires them to have a 'vision of Church committed to mediation and building bridges' 

In a genuine desire to find the middle ground, Christian truth becomes relativised.  

what was an aim of Dominsus Iesus?

An aim of Dominus lesus was to draw a line between accepting 'rays of truth'; outside the church and maintaining the doctrine that salvation is only possible by being a member of RCC as the one true church.  

Tension in RCC between pastoral inclusivism (treating non-Christian people with respect) and soteriological inclusivism (Believing only non-Christians can be saved) cannot be resolved easily  

what does Barth state?

• Karl Bath – protestant, comes to similar conclusion. Reminds Christians and people of other faiths against human arrogance which claims to have any monopoly of the truth. In interfaith terms, Barth's theology calls for Christians to enter dialogue with deep humility and openness.  

Because it is not for humans to dictate when and where God reveals himself, it is God alone's decision.  

Dialogue = about developing one's own faith in Christ as the light of the world by also recognising that the world contains 'lesser lights' which reflect the light of Christ  

-> could be seen as opaque and unclear, especially when it comes to developing a coherent interfaith theology.  

Dialogue only effectively operates in a spirit of openness, humility and non-judgement the question remains whether Barth's theology avoids Christian imperialism.  

what is an aim of theological inclusivism?

to address the charge of Christian imperialism and to develop open discussion which is not comparative.  

what does SI state about interfaith dialogue?

SI = non-Christian religion as a whole may be means to salvation  

 

-> SI – interfaith dialogue is aimed at developing institutional changes and understanding the whole -> institutional change and understanding  

what does RI state about interfaith dialogue?

RI = reserve salvation to individuals based on the quality of their personal faith  

-> RI – reserve salvation to individuals based on the quality of their personal faith -> focuses on individuals  

who argues for SI?

David Ford

what does David Ford argue?

Works most effectively once theological common ground has  been established between those in dialogue and then differences can be discussed in spirit of collegiality.  

Argues differences are a blessing as they force people to think hard about what they believe, they create an environment of study, discussion, debate and friendship. 

-> an 'ecology of blessing' as each person comes from her own religious environment but shares the same world of religion  

Abrahamic religions are united by the biblical covenant and therefore each religion has lots to teach others  

 

what does RI state about interfaith language?

RI = invidiual dialogue as sceptical of institutions to change and theologically, salvation is the result of personal faith and commitment – not achieved via the Chruch.  

Interfaith is aimed at local communities  

• Strength: balances finding common ground between religions whilst respecting religious differences 

However, criticise argue it reduces the creativeness of dialogue -> for dialogue to be effective, Christians cannot presume any privileged position as all truth is open ended 

what do pluralists make the foundation of interfaith dialogue?

notion of differance

As religious truth is multi-faceted then dialogue with the other becomes genuine in order to enlarge a persons spiritual view of the world

what does Keith Ward say (PTP)?

Keith Ward who broadly supports pluriform theological pluralism – argues interfaith dialogue is a significant aid in developing what he calls a global faith  

-> global faith: attitude of openness by anyone of faith who wants to understand another tradition in order to deepen and develop their own faith  

Can mean enjoying disagreement and differences -> helps resist globalisation treating all religions as essentially the same without any distinctiveness 

what do UTP’s state about interfaith dialogue?

Think that different religions are aspects of the same underlying reality  

An appreciation of this provides interfaith dialogue with the real possibility of establishing world peace – use it to develop a global theology 

• Part of the task is to educate people – myths of each religion are not concerned with making ultimate claims about 'truth' but are instead about overcoming ego and selfishness and living in a reality-centred existence.  

what does ETP’s think about interfaith dialogue?

Goal is too abstract  

They agree with the underlying principle that interfaith dialogue should place emphasis on the importance of living unselfishly, the way to do this and establish a fairer world is by using diverse insights of all the great world religions 

Knitter – the purpose of interfaith dialogue is not in the first instance theological, but practical – religions must first act to resolve common problems such as working for peace in combating extremism and radicalisation; only after that is done must each religion reflect and discuss theologically how it applies its teachings. 

what is an issue with pluralism in interfaith dialogue?

 

For pluralism to work effectively it needs all participants to support pluralist model – problematic for UTP's as means abandoning their faith as a source of truth and seeking to create a common world religion -> all Christians reject  

what is a challenge to inter-faith societies?

how to maintain effective dialogue without it becoming superficial -> new area of development of mutual understanding is through studying scripture  

 

who founded scriptural reasoning?

by David Ford and Peter Ochs  

Ford calls SR 'first inter-faith theology' because for all religions scripture is foundational for the development of belief, worship and morality 

 

what is scriptural reasoning?

open-ended practice of reading, reasoning and interpreting texts in dialogue among members of the three Abrahamic religions 

what does the term ‘reasoning’ mean?

refers to close reading and critical explanation of the texts and is important  

what are the two levels of reasoning?

• Internal – use of text itself  

• External – reader is interpreter, reflecting on their contemporary situation  

what are the different levels of scriptural reasoning?

multiple levels from technical scholarly study to a personal spiritual response but there has to be a willingness to accept there is no one definitive interpretation  

what are the 3 aims Ford presents?

• Wisdom: members of the group are committed to a common quest for knowledge which involves dispute and discussion 

• Collegiality: reading texts is a shared enterprise; interpretations from the different traditions are presented and discussed by a group equally  

• Hospitality: texts are read and interpreted without making value judgements – needs to spirit of openness which allows differences in views and opinions to be expressed 

what are the two levels texts are examined on?

1. Text itself is read appropriate for the participants with the original language alongside local language available however it should not be used to prove a point  

2. Then examined as a text lived out in life – beyond a superficial level. Participants are encouraged to be honest in their reading of texts and are encouraged to avoid generalisations about beliefs in the tradition 

what is each group made up of?

representatives from the religion being explored – more than one is suggested so no one is representing their faith alone 

Also a facilitator who maintains focus on the texts, subject matter and dialogue 

what are some of the criticisms of SR?

• Orthodoxy – every member group represents themselves and is not an official voice of their tradition so there is a danger that the voice is removed from the orthodox/normative teaching  

• Reasonableness – no right interpretations so who decides if an interpretation is unreasonable or unsupported – especially in non-academic groups  

• Authority of scripture – variety of different views about what constitutes spiritual authority – affects the way a person interprets their texts  

• Non-Abrahamic faiths – reasoning began because of the common ground between Abrahamic faiths –> can the same be extended to non-Abrahamic faiths  

• Relativism – despite efforts to protect the integrity of each religion, it can be argued SR relativises religious beliefs  

why can it be argued SR does relativise religious belief?

• Exclusivists might suggest that any suggestion that truth is found separately from Christ does relativise religious beliefs and is dangerous  

• Some might acknowledge that glimpses of truths can be found in other religions, but this is not in the spirit of SR. Some might feel that any deeper engagement might lead to relativising religious beliefs 

• Some inclusivists believe that after encountering the Christian message you can no longer be an anonymous Christian. Might say that the fact there is no conversion to the normative path to salvation in scriptural reasoning relativises beliefs 

why can it be argued SR does not relativise religious belief?

• Richness of the texts promotes collegiality rather than relativity through the emphasis on discussion 

• Aim is never to resolve debates nor to talk about truth but to engage with the discussion so there is no question of whether or not religious belief is relativised 

• Doesn't try to join together all religions but recognises that there is wisdom in all traditions and to use that wisdom all individuals need to develop in their own tradition  

what are some of the benefits of a multi-faith society?

• Reducing stereotypes and preventing misinformation – much more realistic interpretation of religions  

• Can experience different cultures + brings people together as division causes conflict 

• Critical thinking – engage in multi-faith dialogue may lead to questioning own beliefs and ideas  

what are the disadvantages of a multi-faith society?

• Do people integrate properly – does dialogue actually happen and is it effective? 

• Can cause conflict in areas – may be initial negative reactions as people may not understand their faith e.g. Islamophobia typically stems from ignorance of official teachings  

• Many countries still have one predominant religious opinion which permeates culture – when challenged can cause difficulties, level of conversation has to be much more detailed and sophisticated otherwise may lead to prejudice 

what happens in SR?

Scriptural reasoning – individuals from different religions come together to read and discuss their sacred texts -> fosters mutual understanding and respect 

-> meetings typically focus on specific themes and members from each religion read the relevant passage from their scripture followed by discussion of perspectives 

what does Barnes say about interfaith dialogue?

is a risky option for Christians because it necessarily means that those involved will have to question the teachings of the Church.

what does Dr Harvey Cox state about interfaith dialogue?

The crisis in interfaith dialogue is simple.

universal & particular poles have come unhinged → no longer possible to avoid other faiths, so the ancient traditions are breaking up.

Some advocate dialogue & mutuality, looking for what is common & unites. Others shun dialogue & criticise their fellow believers who engage it more fiercely than them.

Same faith communities are increasingly divided within themselves & rifts are exacerbated by political tensions. Jesus is central for Christians, so any honest dialogue between Christianity & other faiths will have to deal with the question of Jesus

what does Vaughn state about multifaith societies?

Under the romantic images conjured by a multifaith, plural society, people have deep worries about their identity & beliefs

what did Pope John Paul II say about interfaith dialogue?

should be seen as part of the Christian evangelical mission & an opportunity to give an explicit account of Christian belief.

Interfaith dialogue & the Christian mission can work together, but they shouldn’t be confused as each has their own distinctive nature & aim.

But Christians have a duty to emphasise that salvation is through Christ. Religious dialogue needs to be based on hope & love, with an aim of uncovering universal truths.

how has the census changed?

Christianity

• 2001: 71.7%

• 2011: 59.3%

• 2021: 46.2%

2. No Religion

• 2001: 14.8%

• 2011: 25.1%

• 2021: 37.2%

3. Islam

• 2001: 3.0%

• 2011: 4.8%

• 2021: 6.5%

what does David Ford say are the two main strands in history which have led to new directions in inter-faith dialogue?

Holocast + tensions between islam and west

• was traditionally Christian but many of the population supported Nazism, Church was partly responsible for representing Judaism as the ‘failed religion’ - fails to recognise Christ so after war rabbis initiated interfaith dialogue with Christians which created document Dabru Emet which highlights that they support the same God

• letter in 2007 from leading Muslim scholars pointed out the passion Muslims and Christians share for worshipping God and putting love for ones neighbour into practice → called for ongoing dialogue

what are the 4 strands of interfaith dialogue the cofe identified?

1. dialogue of daily life - informal convos

2. dialogue of common good - different faiths work together for good of community

3. dialogue of mutual understanding - formal debates

4. dialogue of spiritual life - meet together to pray and worship

has inter-faith dialogue contributed towards social cohesion?

• emergence of some political and religious extremist groups has resulted in renewed attempts to find ways in which British society has become more cohesive

• no - not everyone agrees e.g. many Christians think members of other faiths should be persuaded to adopt Christianity as the one true religion

what are some of the Christian responses to inter-faith dialogue?

papal encylical - exclusivist

Redepmtoris missio

makes it clear Christians mission to non-Christians remains essential - Jesus is the one saviour and that Christians, empowered by the Holy Spirit need to bring others to Christian faith

but - we can learn from other religions

‘dialogue should be conducted and implemented with the conviction that the church….posses the fullness of the means of salvation’

what is a Bible quote that promotes exclusivism?

‘woe to me if I do not preach the gospel’