The Three Major Positions on Pluralism and Schleiermacher’s View on Religion

Pluralism
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Pluralism
Pluralism is a widely construed concept emerging as a response to the increasing diversity in religious faith, traditions, and practices that have existed since history and the modern world. Based on the contextual application or intended use, the terms “pluralist” and pluralism” may connote religious diversity or theological and philosophical approaches to diversity. In general, the concept o diversity seeks to emphasize humility on the ground of effectiveness and truth of an individual’s religion and the outcomes of respectful dialogue and being considerate with diverse traditions or cultures. In particular, religious pluralism refers to the phenomenal fact of different religious beliefs, traditions, and practices, and “pluralist” and “pluralism” within the context of religious diversity refers to a form of reaction towards such existing diversities (Norton, 2016). From the concepts of pluralism, pluralist, and religious pluralism, this paper identifies the three major positions on pluralism as held by Alan Race, discusses how Schleiermacher views religion and the contributions he makes in understanding pluralism, and concludes with an analysis of whether pluralism can be practiced today in a divided America.
Alan Race’s Three Major Positions on Pluralism
Both theologians and philosophers have grouped varying accounts of religious diversity in different ways. One of the widely adopted strategies is Alan Race’s threefold positions: pluralist, exclusivist, and inclusivist, first introduced in 1983 (Norton, 2016). Firstly, pluralist positions hold that more than a single set of religious practices and beliefs can be authentic simultaneously. Thus, every religion that is envisioned to be understood in a realist approach is untrue. Secondly, according to Race, the exclusivist position maintains that only a single set of religious beliefs, practices, or cultures can be said to be authentic. However, this position applies to those from the ones supporting the argument. For instance, Christian exclusivists would argue that other non-Christians or those from different denominations within the Christian religion are flawed, if not completely false. Finally, the inclusivist argument supports both pluralist and exclusivist positions by arguing that there is a possibility of more than one religious practice having some elements that may be considered true but still hold that only a single practice may express an ultimate religious truth (Norton, 2016). Several theologians, philosophers, and biblical scholars, such as Friedric...