Problems of Religious Diversity

by Griffiths, Paul J.

• ISBN13: 9780631211495
• ISBN10: 0631211497
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-06-29
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Problems of Religious Diversity analyzes the philosophical questions raised by the fact that many religions in the world often appear to contradict each other in doctrine and practice. The volume distinguishes the differences between religious and non-religious responses to these questions, and evaluates the fundamental philosophical underpinnings of these contemporary debates. It further discusses what a religion is and how diversity in religion can be understood, and examines the concepts of religious truth and salvation. Questions considered include: bull; bull;Can there be more than one true religion? bull;What is the relation between commitment to one's faith and tolerance of other faiths? bull;How does one's awareness of diverse religious claims affect the degree or strength of belief in one's own religion? bull;In what ways can the concept of salvation and its prospects be construed in response to the contradictory nature of different religions?

Author Biography

Paul J. Griffiths is Schmitt Chair of Catholic Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has held academic posts at the University of Wisconsin, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Chicago. He is author of On Being Buddha: The Classical Doctrine of Buddhahood (1994) and Religious Reading: The Place of Reading in the Practice of Religion (1999).

Table of Contents

Series Editor's Preface	ix
Preface	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
Key Terms	xiv
Religious Diversity	1	(20)
Religion: Some Historical Remarks	1	(6)
Religion: A Definition	7	(5)
Diversity in Religion	12	(4)
Philosophical Questions about Religious Diversity	16	(3)
Standpoints and Answers	19	(2)
Religious Diversity and Truth	21	(45)
Religious Claims: Doctrines and Teachings	21	(5)
Assent and Acceptance	26	(5)
Truth, Falsehood, Incompatibility	31	(6)
Parity with Respect to Truth: A Kantian View	37	(8)
Parity with Respect to Truth: A Wittgensteinean View	45	(5)
Parity with Respect to Truth: Nonreligious Views	50	(3)
Difference with Respect to Religious Truth: Exclusivism	53	(3)
Difference with Respect to Religious Truth: Inclusivism	56	(4)
A Catholic Christian Argument for Open Inclusivism	60	(6)
Religious Diversity and Epistemic Confidence	66	(33)
Epistemic Confidence	66	(4)
Awareness of Diversity	70	(5)
Religious Responses to the Question of Epistemic Confidence	75	(6)
Privatization	81	(8)
The Epistemic Significance of Religious Diversity: A Christian View in Conversation with William Alston	89	(10)
The Religious Alien	99	(39)
Toleration: Enduring the Religious Alien	101	(10)
Separation: Isolating the Religious Alien	111	(8)
Conversion: Domesticating the Religious Alien	119	(13)
Christian Evangelism	132	(6)
The Question of Salvation	138	(32)
Pluralism	142	(8)
Exclusivism	150	(9)
Inclusivism	159	(2)
Restrictivism and Universalism	161	(9)
A Brief Guide to Further Reading	170	(2)
Index	172