Religious Pluralism

One of the greatest questions concerning faith is what happens to those faithful in other religions. Though there is no consensus among all people that describe themselves as Christians, the more classical Christian view, as a Southern Baptist described it, “Jesus Christ is the only way to God, and therefore every other religion in the world is wrong.” This seems to be one of the greatest objections to Christianity, the “exclusive” nature it has. Robert Jeffress, in his book Hell? Yes! Lists the things Christians usually here when claiming that Jesus is the only way to Heaven.

“You are being intolerant.”

“Exclusivity promotes hatred.”

“How can so many people be wrong?”

“All religions teach basically the same thing.”

“It is unfair for God to send people to hell just because they haven’t believed in Jesus.”


The primary belief surrounding this discussion is that of religious pluralism. Religious Pluralism in its strongest sense holds that no single religion can claim absolute authority to teach absolute truth. RP can stem from many things. For some, naturalists, religions as we know them are nothing more than the products of human nature and is not the result of contact between humans and the divine. The opposite of naturalism is the belief that there is one, true faith, and other religions must be viewed in the light of the one true religion.

Some religions, like Judaism, have tenets that are some what exclusive, but also include other faiths. Jews believe that Judaism represents the revelations of the one true God, but that when other cultures and religions respect the laws in the Mosaic tradition, they are on the path to revelation from the one true God.

In regards to the question “ Can any one religion be true?”, we see three answers emerge. The naturalist says “No. No religion is true.”, the exclusivist says “Yes. My religion is the one true religion.” And the Religious Pluralist has severe doubts about whether or not one religion is true, or thinks that while one religion may be true, human beings will never know if it is or not.

Our discussion tomorrow night will revolve around these questions. Christians, and believers of many other faiths believe that their faith is the only way. Naturalists believe that all religion is false, and Religious Pluralists don’t think that any religion is completely true, or that if one is, we can never know positively.

1. Is it possible that there is only one true religion? What accounts for the similarities in many religions?

2. What are some drawbacks in your opinion, of the three described perspectives? What fits your beliefs?

3. What consequences does a belief in religious exclusivism have on religious discrimination? Is it intolerant of Christians, or other faithful, to exclude others from salvation?