Religious Pluralism

What is pluralism?

The plurality of religious traditions and cultures has come to characterize every part of the world today. But what is pluralism? Here are four points to begin our thinking:

  • First, pluralism is not diversity alone, but the energetic engagement with diversity. Diversity can and has meant the creation of religious ghettoes with little traffic between or among them. Today, religious diversity is a given, but pluralism is not a given; it is an achievement. Mere diversity without real encounter and relationship will yield increasing tensions in our societies.

  • Second, pluralism is not just tolerance, but the active seeking of understanding across lines of difference. Tolerance is a necessary public virtue, but it does not require Christians and Muslims, Hindus, Jews, and ardent secularists to know anything about one another. Tolerance is too thin a foundation for a world of religious difference and proximity. It does nothing to remove our ignorance of one another, and leaves in place the stereotype, the half-truth, the fears that underlie old patterns of division and violence. In the world in which we live today, our ignorance of one another will be increasingly costly.

  • Third, pluralism is not relativism, but the encounter of commitments. The new paradigm of pluralism does not require us to leave our identities and our commitments behind, for pluralism is the encounter of commitments. It means holding our deepest differences, even our religious differences, not in isolation, but in relationship to one another.

  • Fourth, pluralism is based on dialogue. The language of pluralism is that of dialogue and encounter, give and take, criticism and self-criticism. Dialogue means both speaking and listening, and that process reveals both common understandings and real differences. Dialogue does not mean everyone at the “table” will agree with one another. Pluralism involves the commitment to being at the table -- with one’s commitments.

—Diana L. Eck

Religious pluralism is the state of being where every individual in a religiously diverse society has the rights, freedoms, and safety to worship, or not, according to their conscience.

- The Aspen Institute

Diana Eck is the founder and director of Harvard University's Pluralism Project and makes a distinction between "diversity" and "pluralism."

  • Diversity is simply the demographic reality of variety or difference.

  • Pluralism requires engagement with other religious groups.

Historically, Americans have responded to diversity in three ways: (See "From Diversity to Pluralism.") 

  • Exclusion: religious difference is perceived as a threat and something to oppose. 

  • Assimilation: imagines the U.S. as a melting pot, newer groups expected to give up things that distinguish themselves from dominant U.S. religion i.e. white Protestantism.

  • Pluralism: keep your own traditions but agree to common civic demands of American citizenship. 

Study Questions

  • How would you define pluralism, in your own words?

  • How is pluralism different from simply tolerating those of different religious backgrounds?

  • What are the public spaces, the “tables” where people of different backgrounds meet in your society?

From Diversity to Pluralism - Diana Eck (2020 Version)

Summary: Pluralism is a response to diversity that consists of learning about meaningful differences between different cultures and identities; engaging with different cultures and identities in sites where open dialogue is possible; preserving distinct religious commitments, and looking to the First Amendment as the foundation of American pluralism. For Christians as members of the dominant American religion, pluralism requires intentional effort to look beyond their own experiences;  for all citizens, pluralism is possible in schools, courts, hospitals, and neighborhoods. 

All of America’s diversity, old and new, does not add up to pluralism. “Pluralism” and “diversity” are  sometimes used as if they were synonymous, but diversity—splendid, colorful, and perhaps  threatening—is not pluralism. Pluralism is the engagement that creates a common society from all that  diversity. For example, on the same street in Silver Spring, Maryland are a Vietnamese Catholic church,  a Cambodian Buddhist temple, a Ukrainian Orthodox church, a Muslim Community Center, a Hispanic  First Church of God, and a Hindu temple. This is certainly diversity, but without any engagement or  relationship among the different groups it may not be an instance of pluralism. 

Pluralism is only one of the possible responses to this new diversity. Some people may feel threatened  by diversity, or even hostile to it. Others may look forward to the day when all differences fade into the  landscape of a predominantly Christian culture. For those who welcome the new diversity, creating a  workable pluralism will mean engaging people of different faiths and cultures in the creation of a  common society. Pluralism is not a foregone conclusion, but an achievement. 

Search Our Site!

Search Our Site!