Religious pluralism

There are many religions in the world. They stress man's relationship with a transcendent Divinity. Religio, in Latin, means a link with God.

Are all religions equally right, at least in principle? Or are they somehow all wrong except the one you profess?

These two questions may lead to embarrassing conclusions, but they must be addressed in an age characterised by mobility, globalisation and multiculturalism. Religion is very important, and religious rivalry can lead to violent conflicts.

Such conflicts tend to flare up in places dominated by religious extremism, or fundamentalism. People all over the world should learn to regard religious extremism as a perversion or distortion of religion. No great religion preaches violence, but quite often religion has been used as a pretext to gain or extend power.

Reinhard Kirste is an Evangelical theologian. He is also a pastor and lecturer in charge of religious education and teacher-training in and around Iserlohn, in southwest Germany. He is a prolific writer and co-organiser - with theologians Paul Schwarzenau and Udo Tworuschka - of religious seminars and publications, including Religionen im Gespräch, whose seventh issue (The Challenges of Inter-Religious Dialogue, 508 pp.), just published, prompted this informative note.

Kirste studied Protestant theology in various universities, but it was at a later stage that Helmut Gollwitzer introduced him to Judaism, and Hans Kung, at Tübingen university, to (dissident) Catholic thought. Then he travelled far and wide, first by car, then by aeroplane.

He visited Spain, Portugal, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Turkey, Egypt, India, China and Indonesia: with his eyes and heart wide open to the various religions and religious practices he came across in all these places.

With his wife Karin, he was in Malta in 1983. He spent his last Maltese money in a bookshop, where he bought a book by John Hick, God Has Many Names. Britain's new religious pluralism (Macmillan, 1980). He read most of it on his flight back to Germany. On leaving the aeroplane after three hours, he told his wife: "This book says exactly what I think. I'll have it published in Germany".

Gott und seine viele Namen was published in Altenberge in 1985. A second edition came out last year in Frankfurt/Main, in Kirste's well-known series of inter-religious publications (Website: http://www.interrel.de; e-mail: interrel@t-online.de).

John Hick is a famous British theologian. He qualified in philosophy and theology at both Oxford and Cambridge, then taught philosophy of religion at Birmingham University and at the Claremont Graduate School in California, USA. He is now 80 years old, and resides in Birmingham.

One of Hick's most controversial books is The Myth of God Incarnate (London, SCM 1977). Christianity is the only great religion which unswervingly claims that its founder was the Son of God, or God made man. Hick denied the Incarnation, arguing that it was one of the myths with which many religions are connected.

He realised that his theory would appear to many as "disquietingly negative and destructive", but believed it might clear the way for a better relationship with other religions and "free people to serve God in the Christian path with greater integrity". Catholics, of course, cannot share this belief, the Incarnation being the very foundation of Catholic dogma. No wonder one of Hick's bitter enemies is Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the staunch defender of the Catholic faith.

John Hick and a host of other theologians will say 'yes' to the first question at the beginning of this article. One of the best-known is Leonard Swidler, author of After the Absolute. The dialogical future of religious reflection (Minneapolis, 1990). He considers Vatican Council II (1962-65) as a Copernican revolution, and believes there is no alternative to "dialogue", except "death", in the religious field. Most Catholic theologians have actually abandoned the traditional view that eternal salvation is possible only by allegiance to Christianity.

The highly qualified theologians who contribute to Religionen im Gespräch definitely consider all religions as equally entitled to be practised by those who embrace them, and deem it their duty to promote mutual understanding and collaboration among those who lead or follow different religions.

The gist of their belief was expressed by Paul Schwarzenau's memorable quote: "All religions need each other, not only in what is common to them, but also in what differentiates them and, thus, completes them. We must feel at home in our own religion, and guests, not strangers, in others".

I think we can all subscribe to such a statement, provided we agree that we should feel at home in our own religion, and stick to our belief without fear of being threatened by, or unduly lured to, other religions.

Practising Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox believers will continue to consider Christianity as the best religion, but will admit at the same time that the followers of Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism have the same right to consider their religion as the best - for them. The traditional concept of missionary activity has changed.

The lack of inter-faith dialogue in the past has led to the Crusades, the massacre of Huguenots in France on St Bartholomew's Day and the wars of religion throughout Europe. There is today no alternative to inter-religious dialogue and the acceptance of other religions at par with one's own.

The clash between Islam and the Western world, which some intellectuals and many common people fear could flare up, with disastrous consequences, any time, must be avoided at all costs. One of the most effective ways to prevent it is through inter-religious dialogue.

The Institute for Inter-religious Studies (PO Box 1201, D-58766 Nachrodt), of which Kirste is the moving spirit, has just published the German edition of Mikel de Epalza's book Jesus entre judios, cristianos y musulmanes hispanos (siglos VI-XVII), first published by the University of Granada in 1999. De Epalza teaches Arabic Studies at the University of Alicante. He has translated the Koran into Catalan.

In Jesus zwischen Juden, Christen und Muslimen (Lembeck, Frankfurt/Main, 2002, 304 pp., f16), the author shows how the three monotheistic religions co-existed and how Jesus was esteemed as a great religious leader by the three communities in Spain, especially in Andalusia, between the sixth and 17th centuries. There is no reason why that experience should not repeat itself in Europe and elsewhere today, he argues.

Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. The situation in the Middle East, where Muslims and Jews have been at each other's throats for 50 years, and in Islamic countries like Sudan, Pakistan and Indonesia, where Muslim fundamentalists murder Christians on religious grounds, proves that inter-religious dialogue in certain areas is just a dream. But still, there is no alternative to it.

After Vatican Council II, the Catholic Church has embraced ecumenism and actively, if warily, promoted Christian unity and encouraged contacts with non-Christian religions. At the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the Vatican would have preferred a chapel with the crucifix and an altar, but, as in the case of the Council of Europe, the idea of a common, non-confessional space for prayer and meditation prevailed. There is no reason, I think, why the forthcoming EU Constitution should not include a reference to God and religion, as part of European identity.

"The Word of God - a Blessing for all Nations" was the subject of a conference held recently by the Catholic Bible Federation. This federation was founded in 1969 in the wake of the Vatican Council's document, Dei Verbum. The conference focused on spreading the Gospel's message of peace and love in the modern world, with special reference to the Middle East.

Kirste and others held an inter-religious seminar at the Melanchthon-Akademie in Cologne, Germany, last week, with lectures and discussions on relations between Islam, Buddhism and Christianity. Dietrich Zillessen, on behalf of Christian theology, talks on "Dual religion: how much religion should one have?"

In an age in which multiple nationality is on the increase (European citizenship in the EU is a new concept), should we start thinking in terms of a dual or multiple religion? Many people in our multicultural societies will probably get used to mix and pray with other religious communities, besides their own.

Solidarity in action

A Christian Outlook last Sunday hinted at what the Church in Malta should do to help the poor immigrants who landed illegally in Malta, suggesting that a task force be set up.

The sight of so many handcuffed people, tied to each other in pairs, and escorted by Maltese soldiers, as if they were inferior human beings, was really depressing.

Journalists who plead for compassion, assistance to people in need, dialogue and mutual understanding among members of different ethnic communities are another brilliant example of solidarity in action.