Approaches to the Philosophical Problems of Religious Pluralism

Religion is an important constituent of human culture and values, but it plays an ambivalent role in our lives and society. Though its core business is to build, sustain and promote peace and love throughout the globe, it can by deviation be a powerful source of violence. But, there are different approaches to the problems of religious pluralism. In the contemporary world where a clash of civilization is seen as an important threat to peace and religious diversity and religious confrontation is seen as an important cause of that clash. Religious pluralism is and has long been a fact of social life. The fact that there is plurality of religious traditions, each with its own distinctive beliefs, spiritual practices, ethical outlook, art forms, and cultural ethos, creates an obvious problem for those of us who see them, not simply as human phenomena. Therefore it is evident that we live in a pluralistic world with regard to religious beliefs. While this has always been the case throughout world history, it is all the more evident today with the advent of instant communication, world travel and globalization. It is no longer possible to live in ignorance. This paper will show how the enlightenment was expected to bring about the decline of religion but the opposite has been the case with a renewed interest in all of the world religions.