Submitted by Dewi Harjanto

Religious Pluralism: A Better Approach to Diversity

I remember, many years ago, when I was maybe nine or ten, a woman came in to talk to the class about a very important and serious topic- the necessity for tolerance. She spoke of tolerance as though it was a heavy responsibility, in the terms of a tedious chore that must be endured rather than embraced. I remember she told us that we must accept the differences of others and that we must learn to take the offense of foreign tongues in stride. Of course, those were probably not the exact words she used, but that was the distinct impression I got from her presentation.

I was rather bewildered by this speech. It was clearly well intended, but I felt that the message was not nearly as uplifting or insightful as it was supposed to be. Although I did recognize that not everyone in my classes looked like me, spoke like me, or dressed like me, it never crossed my mind that these differences should be any cause for conflict or discord. At the time, the woman’s call for tolerance appeared unnecessary to me. But I was not as educated in history then as I am now so I can only appreciate what the woman was trying to say in retrospect.

Now, the necessity of a concerted call for some form of unifying action like tolerance appears all too clear. Religious tensions have caused, and continue to cause, hostility throughout the world. It is perhaps nowhere clearer than in the Middle East where this hostility has too often exploded into violence, often involving very young children. These children will never be as naïve as I was about the persisting presence of prejudicially-motivated hatred. Even in America, the multicultural melting pot of the world, the fear of violence triggered by unfair discrimination has slithered in. I am not sure that the American children who grew up watching September 11, especially the Muslim children who may have been wrongly targeted in the aftermath of the attacks, will ever be as innocent as I was either.

Looking back on my own much less traumatic awakening from innocence, I can see that my generation has been instructed to tolerate- nothing more, nothing less. As children, I believe most of us unwittingly gave more than was demanded but that is not hard to do. Tolerance is not a terribly high ambition; it does not take much effort to tolerate, to accept, that the lady next door is an atheist and the man across the street is a Jew while my family consists of Christians and Buddhists. To tolerate these different people, I may simply ignore them. I don’t even have to see them or hear them to be able to bear the fact that in this world, there are people who believe in different gods, or don’t believe that a god exists at all. You are not expected to be thoroughly educated about other religions to be able to properly tolerate them; indeed, it simply isn’t necessary. Tolerance through obliviousness is the approach, I am afraid, that most people adopt in fulfilling their obligation to accept others.

Even so, it is true that for a little while at least, tolerance seemed to be enough. It seemed to be enough just to accept, albeit begrudgingly, that there were other people in the world, other people of different colors, tongues, and faiths. After the horror of the Holocaust, the neutrality of acceptance seemed to be heaven when compared with the furious hatred and violence of prejudice. But hopefully, by now, we have all learned our lesson and moved past this phase (although the much more recent program of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and the continuing hostilities in the Middle East suggest otherwise). Hopefully, sixty years removed from the Holocaust, we are not satisfied with merely tolerating diversity. Hopefully, we have learned that our differences, even our religious differences, can be not only abided; they can also be wholly embraced.

Pluralism should accordingly replace tolerance as the new answer to discrimination. With the international war on terrorism fought in religiously polarized terms (essentially the fundamentalist Muslims against the rest of the world) it has become now more urgent than ever to support religious pluralism. Pluralism promotes dialogue among different groups who hold even the most disparate of beliefs, and through this dialogue, a greater understanding and appreciation for religious diversity can be attained.

Unlike tolerance, pluralism requires commitment and genuine interest in the thoughts, opinions, and feelings of others. Religious pluralism demands that we set our differences aside and make a conscious effort to appreciate the wide spectrum of perspectives that diversity offers. Whether through informal one-on-one talks or formally organized interactive presentations, there are many ways that, for example, a Buddhist can learn about Judaism, or a Catholic can learn about Hinduism. All that is needed is some effort, from all sides.

Since each religion claims itself to be the one true way, for some people, pluralism’s demand for openness to other religious ideas can be seen as unnecessary and even sacrilegious. Others may see pluralism as a convenient opportunity to convert, at least subconsciously, those who are yet condemned, tied to the “wrong” faith. People with this narrow-minded attitude cannot ever hope to respect or understand other beliefs because they simply refuse to even take the initiative to do so. Such insularity leads to the development of unfair stereotypes since it is human nature to fear and dislike what you don’t understand- even if your ignorance is self-imposed.

We all must remember that there is no such thing as a wrong religion so the entire basis for religious insularity is unfounded. Religion is the language of the spirit, helping communicate the soul to some higher plane. Just as you need to understand French to speak to a Frenchman, you must understand or at least accept and appreciate Buddhism to spiritually connect to a Buddhist. The idea of a “wrong” religion makes about as much sense as there being a wrong language. There is nothing inherently bad or wrong in simply being different.

To those who claim that merely talking and learning about different faiths can taint one’s religious conviction, I would like to offer my own experiences. It has always been pretty easy for me to speak rationally and respectfully about other religions without compromising my own beliefs because I have always understood that religion is not a racehorse; there are no winners or losers. As a Christian, I have frequently engaged in spirited discussions with a very good Muslim friend about religion, comparing and contrasting our respective faiths. The key to our successful talks was the fact that as friends, the conversations were never adversarial. We didn’t squabble over the differences in the religions. It never became an ugly debate over who was right and who was wrong, who was saved and who was damned. That wasn’t the issue. Our talks were merely exercises in curiosity; I wanted to learn more about Islam and she wanted to learn more about Christianity. There was nothing else to it.

Religious pluralism and the benefits it promises should inspire such curiosity in more people. We should not be afraid to approach each other about religion; the subject is too important to become socially taboo. I personally don’t see why anyone would hesitate to share his or her thoughts or opinions on such a fascinating topic. There is so much wisdom embedded in faith. There is so much to learn and embrace. And it is important to remember that just because you don’t agree with the theology of a certain faith, it doesn’t mean that you can’t take some of that religion’s philosophy along with you.

Gaining knowledge is the only way to end ignorance, the primary culprit in violence and destruction. Don’t let this world get any crazier. Peace and understanding can be reached, one person at a time. Take the initiative and approach people different from yourself. There are many wonderful people waiting for you to meet, who can teach you about their cultures and beliefs, and whom you yourself can teach. Recognize this world’s wonderful diversity by embracing it, not fearing or shunning it. Familiarize yourself with different religions, not because you have to, but because you want to.

We are all only human beings, frightened and confused, searching for spiritual insight. That we have chosen different paths in seeking this insight should not divide us. Involvement and interaction with people of other faiths than yours will broaden both your perspective and the breadth of your experiences. Don’t let religion divide us. It is only another classification, another box that you conveniently fall into. If we all fell into the same box, where would the fun or the interest be? Variety, as they say, is the spice of life. Where tolerance gives you only a sniff, pluralism invites you to share in and add more flavors to that spice.