Dialogue Within And Between Religious Groups

Question 1

Exclusivism

Answer 1

Exclusivism - the view that only one religion is true and that the others are false

• Christian exclusivist believe that salvation is possible only through faith in Jesus

To support their views they look to the following passages:
“Whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”
“Whoever believes and is baptised will be saves, but whoever does not believe will be condemned”
“No one comes to the father except through me”

Interfaith exclusivism:
- The Roman Catholic Church has maintained an exclusivism outlook on non-Catholic Christians and people of other faiths.
- missionaries were sent to other countries to convert people to Christianity so they could be saved.
Pope Innocent III wrote :
“There is but one universal church of the faithful, outside of which no one at all can be saved”
Pope Eugene IV wrote:
“Those not living with the Catholic Church…cannot become participants in eternal life”

Intra-faith exclusivism:

• some churches have held exclusivist views on the validity of Christians in different denominations.
• for example, during the reformation Protestants and Catholics persecuted eachother,

“The Catholic Church professes that it is the one, holy Catholic and apostolic church of Christ (…) it acknowledges that the Holy Ghost is truly active in the churches and communities separate from itself”

Question 2

Inclusivism

Answer 2

Some Christians believe that:

• God is omnibenevolent so would not only give salvation to Christians
• people who lived before Jesus could not have been saved but there are passages in the Old Testament that suggests they were
• God is fair . It is not fair to condemn people who have not heard of Jesus
• in the parable of the sheep and goats, Jesus says “the righteous will go into eternal life” but doesn’t say anything about faith being necessary for salvation.

Christian inclusivism is the belief that Christianity is the only true religion, however non-Christians can go to heaven.

The anonymous Christian :

• developed by Catholic thinker Karl Rahner
• this is someone who is not a Christian but has been given Gods grave even though they are not aware of it.
• only applies to someone who is unaware of Christianity

Criticism to inclusivism:
- it is really a form of exclusivist as it still believes Christianity is the only true religion

Question 3

Pluralism

Answer 3

• rejects the belief that God revealed himself only through Jesus

They disagree with exclusivists and inclusivists

They believe that God reveals himself through all the world religious traditions and the Christian faith is just one of many valid responses to God.

John Hick:
- all religions have truth in them and deserve the same respect
All major religions have 2 things in common:
- none can prove that it is the only true religion
-individuals of all faiths have experiences they say come from God.

Hick accounts for the differences between religion by saying that they arise from different cultures.
He says:
“If we take literally the traditional belief that in Christ we have a uniquely full revelation of God and a uniquely direct relationship with God(…) Christians ought to be better human beings”

Critics of pluralism state:

• hicks ignores genuine differences between religions
• religious followers hold their beliefs to be completely true

Question 4

Ecumenicalism and intra-faith communication

Answer 4

Intra-faith communication- dialogue across churches within the faith.
- churches emphasise their common beliefs and histories while respecting their differences

Ecumenicalism - an attempt to bring about unity of the Christian churches. This is about the different churches cooperating in worship and working together to serve humanity.

The world council of churches wok in bee areas:

• setting up a commit of different churches around the world
• working together for peace in the world
• training people to continue intra-faith communication

Not all Christians ads in favour of ecumenicalism:

• exclusivists may find it hard to accept other denominations on equal terms.
• some churches are happy to remain distinct from other Christian groups
• concerns that ecumenicalism will make them less distinct from other Christian groups

Question 5

Interfaith dialogue

Answer 5

Interfaith dialogue is an attempt to understand and respect the differences between religions, while remaining true to ones own faith.

It’s aims include:

• enabling members of different faiths to form friendships and strengthen social ties
• providing opportunities to learn about each others beliefs, values and practices
• promoting multi faith events in local communities
• engaging in practical projects