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The Myth of Religious Pluralism: Definitions, Presuppositions, and Implications in the Work of Three Contemporary Scholars

Utley, Adam Nelson
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=muhonors1114097925

Abstract Details

2005, Bachelor of Arts, Miami University, College of Arts and Sciences - Religion.
THE MYTH OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM: DEFINITIONS, PRESUPPOSITIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS IN THE WORK OF THREE CONTEMPORARY SCHOLARS BY ADAM N. UTLEY It is not my purpose, in presenting the “Myth of Religious Pluralism,” to suggest that religious pluralism is a falsehood. On the contrary, if religious pluralism is the confluence of multiple religions in a single system, this fact is undeniable in a time when airplanes, cars, cell phones, the internet, and other forces of globalization are bringing the whole world closer together, across lines of difference. Religious pluralism must first be understood as a fact of life. It should be considered, secondly, as an ideal, and thirdly, as a problem. This discussion will focus on authors who have conceived of religious pluralism as both a fact of life and as an ideal: a solution with which to address injustice. As you will see, this ideal is better understood by contrast to the notion of religious pluralism as a problem. The current inquiry will focus on pluralism as a religious response to global injustices including exploitation and other forms of violence. By examining three authors who are simultaneously scholars of religion and practitioners of religious faith, and by offering a comparative analysis of their work, I will begin the task of characterizing the phenomenon of religious pluralism as an ideal. Having created this comparative analysis from a small sample of a few authors’ works on religious pluralism, I offer my own creative interpretation of the analysis of each author by composing narrative allegories. I then compose a fourth story that incorporates the themes of all three authors. The act of writing such stories is inspired by the work of Wendy Doniger who identifies myth as the premier comparative genre. These stories are meant first as a discovery tool that has aided the process of comparison necessary to uncover and articulate the analysis of religious pluralism. Secondly, these stories serve to illustrate the thrust of my analysis. I’ll also show that this sample of religious pluralism is motivated by the purpose of confronting religious ethics with the problem of violence, in as much as such violence is motivated by exclusivist conceptions of religious truth. In developing this process of comparison, I will prove that the phenomenon of religious pluralism found within the work of William Schweiker, Omid Safi, and Amir Hussain is marked by humanism, theology, and the comparative mentality.
Frederick Colby (Advisor)
76 p.
Religious Pluralism Islam Christianity Ethics Violence Humanism Comparative Methodology

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Utley, A. N. (2005). The Myth of Religious Pluralism: Definitions, Presuppositions, and Implications in the Work of Three Contemporary Scholars [Undergraduate thesis, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=muhonors1114097925

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Utley, Adam. The Myth of Religious Pluralism: Definitions, Presuppositions, and Implications in the Work of Three Contemporary Scholars. 2005. Miami University, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=muhonors1114097925.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Utley, Adam. "The Myth of Religious Pluralism: Definitions, Presuppositions, and Implications in the Work of Three Contemporary Scholars." Undergraduate thesis, Miami University, 2005. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=muhonors1114097925

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2005, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Miami University Honors Theses and OhioLINK.