"Polyhedral Pluralism": Pope Francis, Deep Pluralists and the Practice of Hindu-Christian Studies
Early in his pontificate, in the apostolic exhortation "The Joy of the Gospel" (Evangelii Gaudium), Pope Francis called for the cultivation of a "healthy pluralism" that resists liberal tolerance and embraces authentic difference (EV #255). What kind of pluralism does Pope Franci...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Univ.
2020
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| In: |
Journal of Hindu-Christian studies
Year: 2020, Volume: 33, Pages: 1-12 |
| IxTheo Classification: | BK Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism CC Christianity and Non-Christian religion; Inter-religious relations KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history KDB Roman Catholic Church |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Early in his pontificate, in the apostolic exhortation "The Joy of the Gospel" (Evangelii Gaudium), Pope Francis called for the cultivation of a "healthy pluralism" that resists liberal tolerance and embraces authentic difference (EV #255). What kind of pluralism does Pope Francis intend? In this essay, I propose that Francis offers a practical, political vision of "reconciled diversity" (#230) and "polyhedral" unity (#236) that resonates fruitfully with the "deep pluralism" of William Connolly, particularly in the latter’s strategic decision to locate the "depth" of one’s pluralism less in philosophical or theological principles than in character, disposition and embodied habit. As a distinctive form of such deep pluralism, Pope Francis’s vision of "polyhedral pluralism" can offer a useful framework for engaging the legacy of founding figures of Hindu-Christian Studies, such as Swami Vivekananda, as well as contested questions of religious conversion. It also recommends a distinctive approach to the discipline itself, one that advances a pluralist agenda through practices of respectful, unitive struggle, rather than through the formulation of grand theories. A couple of years ago, a quotation from the newly elected pope of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, began circulating on Facebook and other social media platforms. In it, the pope makes a dramatic, radically egalitarian claim about religious truth, proclaiming that: ... because Muslims, Hindus and African Animists are also made in the very likeness and image of God, to hate them is to hate God! To reject them to is to reject God and the Gospel of Christ. Whether we worship at a church, a synagogue, a mosque or a mandir, it does not matter. Whether we call God Jesus, Adonai, Allah or Krishna, we all worship the same God of love. This truth is self-evident to all who have love and humility in their heart! 1 This is in many ways a lovely affirmation of religious pluralism, and one that might transform relations between Hinduism and Christianity, were it true that the leader of the largest Christian tradition in the world had said it. He did not say it, of course. The news story was a hoax.2 |
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| ISSN: | 2164-6279 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Hindu-Christian studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.7825/2164-6279.1767 |