Religious Pluralism and Influence on Christian Thought Flashcards
What is Religious Pluralism?
A situation where people of many faiths live in the same society without conflict, respecting one another’s views. In some contexts, the term can also refer to the view that all religions are equally valid.
What is a secular state?
A country where the government, legislature and society are not controlled by, or dependent on the teachings of religion.
Can we really have multicultural and religious pluralism in society?
There is a multiculturalism temptation to say that one’s own beliefs are not superior to another but a religious temptation to say just the opposite.
Religious pluralism assumes that all religions are to be respected, celebrated and understood as having intrinsic value for their beliefs.
What are the Christian attitudes to other religions?
Inclusivist: This is a view held by the Catholic Church. They believe that Christianity has the whole truth but that other religions have some truth, so they are still able to achieve salvation and enter heaven. They also believe that some non-believers will be able to enter heaven if they have done good deeds within their life time and lived a good life without greed.
What does it say in the Catechism about the idea of inclusivism?
‘Those who… do not know the gospel of Christ… but who seek God with a sincere heart… and try to do his will… may achieve everlasting salvation.’ CCC 847
What’s religious and what’s cultural?
Where cultural practices claim a religious dimension, there may be problems if the practices are contrary to British Law. Examples are female genital mutilation and forced marriages.
Influences on Christian thought
Christianity teaches that Jesus was God in human form. Islam teaches that Jesus was a very important prophet, but that he was only human.
What takes priority? Reason or Religion?
Religion gives people certainty and humans have a strong psychological need for certainty. This partly explains the rise in fundamentalism, a literal acceptance of simply expressed religious beliefs, ignoring all complexities of interpretation.
Fundamentalism offers clear teaching of belief and moral issues when society in general seems to offer only vague ethical principles.
