Submitted by Mario Melton

Religious Pluralism has several meanings: It encompasses the notion that the worlds’ religions constitute visions of the one final divinity, it can be the abundance and diversity of religious movements in a certain location, and the possibility of more than one religion containing truth in addition to or despite their doctrines of faith remaining mutually exclusive. Religious Pluralism is not merely accepting the fact that others are diverse, but acknowledging and incorporating various religious practices into our routines, and recognizing that diversity in our personal beliefs will enrich our lives. Active and constructive engagement is the only way to achieve Religious Pluralism.

Constructive and active engagement is circular; both sides coincide with each other. Constructive engagement begins when we show respect for, or affection for other individuals. Constructive actions are found at every turn; in school, at the mall, in the workplace among other places. When we engage on these basic levels, we develop love, attachment to one another. We are not likely to seek religious expansion if we do not have a conduit, other people. In other words, if we don’t have a friend or acquaintance as a promoter, active engagement does not appear probable.

Active engagement is a desire or willingness to understand and incorporate practices or beliefs, which are religiously unfamiliar in detail but familiar by extension. That is to say, if one develops a liking or love for another of a separate faith, one is likely to incorporate certain practices into one’s routine. Including other rituals or beliefs stems from the former closeness. Simply, constructive engagement leads to active engagement, and both are requirements in being religiously plural.

One example of such engagements can be religiously diverse marriages. Take for example my maternal grandparents; both are Cuban, my grandmother is Catholic and my grandfather is part Jewish. Although she is not of Jewish faith, my grandmother insisted on affixing a mezuzah to the front doorframe of their home. A mezuzah is a small container, with a piece of parchment inside. On the parchment written in Hebrew is a prayer. The purpose of the mezuzah is to protect the house from evil and remind people of the presence of God. Some individuals insist one should touch the mezuzah before entering or leaving the house. My grandmother does not feel compelled to touch it; my aunt, who lives with my grandparents, places her hand on it each time she passes the doorway. My point is that the Catholic part of my family incorporates beliefs and practices from the distant Jewish part.

Engagement can also arise from newly developed beliefs resulting from the need for particular spiritual fulfillment. People are likely to adapt their views and beliefs and steer in a direction that is more closely related to their personal conclusions. Also, people tend to change religious and cultural headings when certain needs crop up. “What works best, fits.” Simply put, people are inclined to seek out religious similarities that comport with their needs, desires, and personal beliefs.

Individual spiritual needs may be satisfied with rituals previously unfamiliar, not sanctioned by their own religion. Imported from Africa’s Ivory Coast, and currently located in the “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” corporate office, the African fertility statues have been visited by individuals of diverse religions. The statues have traveled to numerous locations worldwide, and are believed to harbor the ability to induce pregnancy if touched. The notion that a pair of statues can give the impression of divine action is a feature that will exude a multi-religious gravitation. Though foreign to and even in conflict with the teachings of most western religions, these statues remain popular in the west and elsewhere.

Sharing traditions promotes greater understanding and helps alleviate the ignorance that encourages religious strife. In order to share, we must be religiously open minded. We must expose and eliminate the hurdles that prevent us from accommodating Religious Pluralism, and obtaining enrichment. These elements need to come into our focuses in hopes of avoiding the conflictions they encourage. Lack of humane education, social structure, and world issues pose conflicts that can result in negative assumptions about unfamiliar things and people.

To accomplish the matter at hand, we need to comprehend particular details. First, dissolving tensions among religions is instrumental for diversity to be actualized. Second, diversity is essential to achieve Religious Pluralism. So we should begin at the foundation of the former, how and why religious tensions arise. One general cause of tension exists, manifesting itself in a hierarchy of stages: Prejudice, bias, and discrimination.

Ambivalence is an influential agent in configuring the three resulting stages of a misinformed education. Religious education begins in the home. When one’s mentality is tainted with prejudice, preconceived notions and views, this will likely lead to intricate logic based on invalid foundations of bias. When one is raised or influenced in certain ways, one tends to render dispositional judgments lacking all the necessary evidence. So it is not uncommon that people of various and particular faiths feel they must defend their religious stances, though they are doing this with distorted facts. I remember a neighbor telling me at a young age that, “the Aladdin movie is an attack against the Bible, and people from that part of the world are all bad.” My responses to this were teary eyes and a vice like grip on my Aladdin videocassette. Reflecting now on this past occurrence, I feel auspicious that my upbringing was free of whatever imprecise cultural views were present in my neighbors’ upbringing.

This incident was pre September 11th, 2001, and I hardly perceived the sentiments expressed by that old woman could be amplified. Today, I cling to the innocence of my youth; I am hardly gullible though neither very stubborn, but nor do I believe the entirety of the predisposed population incapable of seeing logic and silver linings. It is critical that prejudiced individuals mentally embrace the tensions being spread. With a continuous reflection on tensions, it is feasible that a disconnection of sorts will occur. In this I am referring to the similar effect of repeating a word insatiably, with such repetition one sometimes forgets or unlearns the definition of the word. Hopefully though, the unlearning process will occur, and humane logic will fill the void and dissolve discriminating tensions.

So it seems pertinent that reeducation needs to transpire. With tension dissolved and logic accented, disputes will me minimized. Religious differences should not be the focus of diversity; rather, we should aim to celebrate our common religious attributes, and nurture a need to acquire further knowledge. It seems plainly clear that searching for extended religious comprehension to enhance one’s theological persona will result from the tensionless environment.

In our search for theological truths we will undoubtedly uncover several commonalities among world religions. The central examples of these familiarities are, divinity presiding in some form or another, and proclamations of salvation. Also many religions have intermediaries: Rabbis, priests, etc. While some religions don’t believe in the necessity of intermediaries, you can always surmount this diverging opinion and recognize the first common trait: Divinity/supernatural power. In any case, the base principle is that we are firmly linked.

In essence we will be further encouraged to seek out religious variations because, the common characteristics we encounter will promote the significant realization that numerous religions harbor multiple truths. Diversity/variation is key since we will be inclined to utilize the vital information realized. Incorporating these assorted rituals and truths can only be productive in fulfilling our spiritual necessities by allowing us to achieve Religious Pluralism.

In reaching Religious Pluralism life enrichment will result, because of the complex unification occurring. I believe the topic of this essay is defining enrichment as the discovery of salvation, of divinity, as a conclusion we must reach for ourselves, not through unnecessary subscription to religion. I personally believe that no singular religion is correct, for the reason that it is arrogant to attempt the impossible. Defining the end, the final truth, defining divinity, is not something we can accomplish as mortals, and perhaps this recognition is in someway enriching.

Sometimes one simply comes across a certain practice or belief, which may or may not be religious, and take a liking to it. Sometimes you just feel its right; you don’t necessarily need to convert faiths. There is no corporeal law that says one must adhere strictly to beliefs isolated in one certain religion. Constructive and active engagement fosters the holistic sense of self worth we experience when we become clued in to a new way of viewing the world. Simply, the more we know the more we feel we are worth as human beings. Hence, when we can see multiple possibilities equally possible we feel enlightened, holistic, enriched.

In short, the human posterity has been preached to, and religious absolutions have taken hold of minds. However, the logical world can erode fanaticism. Religious Pluralism will foster acceptance as faith in mankind’s capacity to be constructively and actively engaged. We will be capable of integrating religiously unfamiliar views into our daily lives, and diversity will equal fortification. Let us permit the necessity for a sense of engagement and identification to take precedence over religious differences. If anything let us allow the moral obligation to humanity, as a race of diverse worshippers, to guide our philanthropic instinct, and give life to enrichment.