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Prosiding Seminar Kebangsaan Pengajian Akidah Dan Agama
2018
Penyunting Wan Mohd Fazrul Azdi Wan Razali
Yuseri Ahmad
Marina Munira Abdul Mutalib
Roslizawati Mohd Ramly
Program Pengajian Akidah dan Agama
Fakulti Kepimpinan dan Pengurusan
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia
Nilai • 2018
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Cetakan Pertama / First Printing, 2018 Hak Cipta / Copyright Program Pengajian Akidah dan Agama, FKP, USIM, 2018
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Diterbitkan di Malaysia oleh / Published in Malaysia by
PROGRAM PENGAJIAN AKIDAH DAN AGAMA
Fakulti Kepimpinan dan Pengurusan
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia
71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan D.K, MALAYSIA
Tel: +606-798 8000/5522 Fax: +606-798 8204
E-mel: [email protected] | Website: www.usim.edu.my
Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia Data Pengkatalogan-dalam-Penerbitan
PROSIDING SEMINAR KEBANGSAAN PENGAJIAN AKIDAH DAN AGAMA ‘THE GOOD, THE BAD
AND THE UGLY OF PHILOSOPHY’ 25 APRIL 2018, BILIK MESYUARAT UTAMA FAKULTI
KEPIMPINAN DAN PENGURUSAN UNIVERSITY SAINS ISLAM MALAYSIA/ Editors: Wan Mohd Fazrul
Azdi Wan Razali, Yuseri Ahmad, Marina Munira Abdul Mutalib, Roslizawati Mohd Ramly
Pereka Grafik Muhammad Hanif Azni
ISBN 978-967-440-746-5
1.Faith (Islam)—Congress. 2. Islam—Doctrines—Congresses.
I.Wan Mohd Fazrul Azdi Wan Razali. II.Yuseri Ahmad.
III.Marina Munira Abdul Mutalib. IV.Roslizawati Mohd Ramli.
V.Judul. VI.Judul: SIGMA 8
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PRAKATA
Seminar Kebangsaan Pengajian Akidah dan Agama 2018 (SIGMA 8) ini merupakan seminar tahunan yang dianjurkan oleh Program Pengajian Akidah dan Agama dengan kerjasama Persatuan Mahasiswa Pengajian Akidah dan Agama (PERWADAH). Seminar ini diadakan bagi mendedahkan kepada para mahasiswa / mahasiswi / penyelidik dan pendidik tentang perbahasan dan dapatan baru mengenai ilmu Usuluddin yang merangkumi disiplin Akidah, Falsafah, Tasawuf dan Perbandingan Agama. Di samping itu, seminar ini juga bertujuan menghimpunkan mahasiswa dan mahasiswi yang menuntut di Universiti Awam (UA) dan Universiti Swasta (US) serta para akademik di seluruh Malaysia dalam program Usuluddin. Untuk SIGMA yang kelapan ini, tema utama yang telah dipilih adalah berkisarkan ilmu falsafah, yakni the good, the bad and the ugly of philosophy. Tema utama ini diketengahkan pada kali ini kerana perbahasan mengenai keabsahan ilmu falsafah adalah sebuah tajuk yang sentiasa malar hijau (evergreen) dan sehingga ke hari ini masih diperdebatkan oleh ramai pihak, termasuklah dalam kalangan cendekiawan mahupun bukan. Namun begitu, terdapat juga tema-tema lain yang turut dibentangkan iaitu Akidah, Tasawuf dan Perbandingan Agama. Ilmu falsafah adalah ilmu yang membahaskan berkenaan hikmah dan kebijaksanaan. Falsafah, dari sudut etimologi, adalah berasal daripada perkataan Yunani philein, iaitu menyukai dan sophia, iaitu hikmah atau kebijaksanaan. Pada asasnya, melalui ilmu falsafahlah sesuatu perkara itu dibahaskan secara logik dan rasional, dalam menyelidik dan menghuraikan asal-usul, sebab, akibat, serta lain-lain pecahan maklumat yang berkaitan. Umumnya, ilmu falsafah merangkumi cabang-cabang berikut: metafizik atau ontologi, epistemologi, logik, etika, estetika dan banyak lagi. Terdapat pelbagai pujian dan celaan pada ilmu falsafah. Falsafah yang dipuji adalah falsafah yang membawa kepada kebenaran, yang terpandu dengan baik, dan yang menatijahkan segala macam kebaikan kepada manusia. Falsafah yang tercela pula adalah falsafah yang menatijahkan pelbagai pertentangan, dipandu oleh nafsu dan akal semata-mata, serta membawa kepada fahaman anti Tuhan (atheism), sekularisme, humanisme, pluralisme agama, ‘rightisme’ dan pelbagai lagi ‘isme’ yang menyalahgunakan intelek sebagai saingan kepada wahyu. Dalam kerangka epistemologi, ilmu falsafah hanyalah sebuah cabang disiplin ilmu yang berusaha memandu akal dan sifat dialektiknya dalam menyelidik dan menghuraikan satu-satu permasalahan. Dengan lain perkataan, falsafah hanyalah sebuah ilmu alat daripada pelbagai ilmu alat yang ada pada zaman ini, untuk mencerakinkan sesebuah perbincangan secara teoretikal dan sistematik, agar dapat menatijahkan suatu dapatan yang bermanfaat. Namun begitu, oleh kerana sifat teoretikal dan rasional ilmu falsafah inilah, ilmu falsafah selalu disalah tanggap sebagai suatu ilmu yang sia-sia, membuatkan pelajar dan pengajarnya ‘terawang-awang’, dan tidak dipertemukan dengan titik kehidupan yang praktikal. Tidak dinafikan bahawa terdapat ‘tahāfut’ dan perselisihan pandangan yang dibawa oleh para ahli falsafah kerana mereka tidaklah maksum sepenuhnya. Antara ahli falsafah ini adalah Protagoras (485-411SM), salah seorang ahli falsafah awal sebelum Socrates, yang obses dengan akal dan rasional sehingga menolak kewujudan tuhan. Begitu juga Karl Marx (1818-1883), yang sangat materialis dan dengan angkuh mengungkapkan bahawa “agama adalah candu bagi masyarakat”. Nietzsche (1844-1900) pula mengisytiharkan gott ist tott (Tuhan sudah
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mati) dalam Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883), menunjukkan bahawa zaman wahyu telah tamat, di mana bermulalah episod baru bagi falsafah nihilisme dalam kepercayaan mengenai kewujudan (existential) serta etika (moral) kemanusiaan. Akan tetapi, adalah tidak adil untuk dikesampingkan dan diabaikan sumbangan kebaikan ilmu falsafah kepada ribuan tahun kehidupan manusia dan dalam pembinaan tamadun. Masakan tidak? Jika begitu, ilmu falsafah tidak akan dianggap sebagai ilmu yang menjadi dasar kepada ilmu-ilmu lainnya. Dalam Tamadun Islam, Baitul Hikmah yang dibina pada era Abbasiyyah adalah salah sebuah manifestasi penghargaan ilmuwan Islam kepada ilmu falsafah. Ramai ilmuwan Islam seperti Ibn Sina (980-1037M), Ibn Rushd (1126-1198M) dan Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406M) adalah ahli falsafah. Maka ahli falsafah itu semuanya manusia biasa, tidak maksum pemikiran dan lisan mereka daripada sebarang kekurangan dan kesalahan. Seperti mafhum yang pernah diungkapkan oleh Imam Malik ibn Anas (93-179H) rahmatullah ta’ala alayhi: “setiap orang itu diambil atau ditolak kata-katanya, melainkan wahyu Nabi ṣallā Allāhu alayhi wa sallam.” Yang beruntung adalah mereka yang mengambil pelajaran. Nabi ṣallā Allāhu alayhi wa sallam pernah bersabda: “Hikmah itu adalah barang yang hilang milik orang yang beriman. Di mana saja ia menemukannya, maka ambillah hikmah itu.” (Riwayat Tirmidhī). Pada kali ini, sebanyak 42 kertas ilmiah yang telah berjaya dihimpunkan dan dibentangkan. Sidang editor mengucapkan sekalung tahniah dan jutaan penghargaan kepada para pembentang kertas kerja terutamanya dua kertas pembentang utama iaitu Profesor Madya Dr. Ahmad Sunawari Long (UKM) dan Profesor Madya Dr. Haslina Ibrahim (UIAM). Moga semua kertas yang termuat kali ini adalah bermanfaat dan memberikan serba sedikit pencerahan mengenai ilmu falsafah serta ilmu-ilmu usuluddin lainnya. Sidang Editor, SIGMA 8, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM)
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KATA ALUAN
DEKAN FAKULTI KEPIMPINAN DAN PENGURUSAN
UNIVERSITI SAINS ISLAM MALAYSIA
احلمد هلل رب العاملني، والصالة والسالم على أشرف األنبياء واملرسلني، وعلى أزواجه وآله وأصحابه والتابعني، .واتبعي التابعني هلم إبحسان إىل يوم الدين
Prosiding ini adalah himpunan beberapa kertas akademik yang dibentangkan dalam Seminar Kebangsaan Pengajian Akidah dan Agama 2018 (SIGMA 8) yang dianjurkan bersama di bawah Pengajian Akidah dan Agama bertempat di Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia. Bandar Baru Nilai, 71800 Negeri Sembilan pada hari Rabu, 25 April 2018.
Seminar Kebangsaan Pengajian Akidah dan Agama yang bertemakan “The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Of Philosophy” ini adalah sebuah seminar akademik yang bertujuan untuk menghimpunkan para ahli akademik khususnya, serta mahasiswa amnya di seluruh Malaysia dalam program Usuluddin, atau di Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) dikenali sebagai Program Pengajian Akidah dan Agama. Di samping itu, seminar ini juga bertujuan memartabatkan pemahaman Akidah Ahli al-Sunnah wa al-Jama‘ah di Malaysia dan berwacana secara ilmiah berkenaan isu-isu kajian akidah, falsafah dan penyelidikan agama kontemporari.
Saya, bagi pihak fakulti, ingin mengucapkan tahniah kepada ahli-ahli Jawatankuasa SIGMA 8, daripada kalangan pensyarah dan mahasiswa yang telah merancang dan menjayakan usaha murni ini. Terima kasih kepada semua pembentang yang telah mencurahkan hasil kesarjanaan dalam bidang ini dan masa mereka kerana sudi berkongsi pandangan yang sangat bernilai dalam seminar kali ini.
Saya juga mengucapkan tahniah kepada editor-editor yang bekerja dengan penuh dedikasi dan komited sehingga berjaya menerbitkan prosiding ini.
Semoga hasil usaha semua pihak akan diterima dan diberkati Allah. Allah SWT berfiman dalam surah Al-Kahfi 18: ayat 30 yang bermaksud: “Sesungguhnya mereka yang beriman dan beramal salih, tentulah Kami tidak akan mensia-siakan pahala orang-orang yang mengerjakan amalannya dengan baik.”
Prof. Madya Dr. Mohd Radhi B. Ibrahim.
Dekan, Fakulti Kepimpinan dan Pengurusan Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia
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KATA ALUAN PENGARAH
SEMINAR KEBANGSAAN PENGAJIAN AKIDAH DAN AGAMA
حسان امحلد هلل رب العاملني، والصالة والسالم عىل أأرشف الأنبياء واملرسلني، وعىل أأزواجه وأ هل وأأحصابه والتابعني، واتبعي التابعني هلم بإ
ىل يوم ادلين .اإ .
Firman Allah SWT dalam Surah Al-Taubah 9: ayat 105, yang bermaksud: “Dan katakanlah: "Bekerjalah kamu, maka Allah dan Rasul-Nya serta orang-orang mu‘min akan melihat pekerjaanmu itu, dan kamu akan dikembalikan kepada (Allah) yang Maha Mengetahui akan yang ghaib dan yang nyata, lalu diberitakan-Nya kepada kamu apa yang telah kamu kerjakan"
Seminar Pengajian ini yang dibawakan secara ilmiah diharapkan dapat membantu pensyarah, mahasiswa mahasiswi mendalami dan memahami isu-isu kajian berkaitan akidah ahli sunnah wal jamaah secara ilmiah dan berfalsafah kerana ilmu falsafah atau lebih dikenali sebagai ilmu yang memandu akal juga amat penting dalam menghurai dan merungkai permasalah yang berlaku dalam mendepani masyarakat kini.
Akhir kalam, saya bagi pihak pengarah Seminar Kebangsaan Pengajian Akidah Dan Agama 2018 (SIGMA 8), ingin mengucapkan jutaan tahniah kepada semua ahli jawatankuasa SIGMA 2018 yang telah bertungkus-lumus dalam menjayakan usaha dan niat yang murni ini supaya dapat diteruskan dan dikembangkan lagi pada masa akan datang. Tidak dilupakan, jutaan terima kasih juga kepada semua para pembentang yang berusaha untuk berkongsi pandangan yang sangat tidak ternilai dalam seminar kali ini. Maksud firman Allah SWT dalam surah Al-Kahfi 18: ayat 30: “Sesungguhnya mereka yang beriman dan beramal saleh, tentulah Kami tidak akan mensia-siakan pahala orang-orang yang mengerjakan amalannya dengan baik.” Pengarah, Seminar Kebangsaan Pengajian Akidah Dan Agama 2018.
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SENARAI KANDUNGAN PROSIDING
1. Prakata ……….4
2. Kata Aluan Dekan Fakulti Kepimpinan Dan Pengurusan, Universiti Sains Islam
Malaysia (USIM). …………6
3. Kata Aluan Pengarah Seminar Kebangsaan Pengajian Akidah Dan Agama
(SIGMA 8)…………..7
4. Senarai Ahli Jawatakuasa Seminar Kebangsaan Pengajian Akidah dan
Agama (SIGMA 8)…………..12
5. TENTATIF PENUH SIGMA 8………….14
6. WHY IS THERE STUDY OF RELIGIONS IN THE MUQADDIMAH IBN
KHALDUN? EXPLORING SOME POSSIBLE ANSWERS
Wan Mohd Fazrul Azdi………………23
7. HARON DIN: PEMIKIRAN PERUBATAN ISLAM DI MALAYSIA
Ummi Sarrah Mohd Ghazali, Muhammad Azizan B. Sabjan……………36
8. KONSEP ILMU MENURUT AL-FARABI
Muhammad Tasnim bin Joohari, Mohd Radhi bin Ibrahim…………44
9. AGAMA KAUM CINA YANG BUKAN MUSLIM DI MALAYSIA.
Kasim Bin Ramli……………51
10. THE EFFECT OF GREEK PHILOSOPHY IN THE AQIDAH OF ISMAILI
SHIITES.
Kamaluddin Nurdin Marjuni…………….68
11. KONSEP SABAT DALAM AJARAN YAHUDI
Nurhanisah Binti Senin…………………………….82
12. PENGARUH FACEBOOK TERHADAP PEMBENTUKAN NILAI AKIDAH
REMAJA MUSLIM DI MALAYSIA
Muhamad Zaki Mustafa, Zulkiple Abd. Ghani, Roslizawati Mohd Ramly, Wan
Mohd Fazrul Azdi, Abdul Rahim Zumrah……………96
13. PENGGUNAAN DALIL NAQLI DAN ‘AQLI DALAM AKIDAH KETUHANAN
MENURUT AL-GHAZALI
Mohd Hasrul Shuhari……………….104
14. KONSEP MASJID BERKEBAJIKAN
Nailah Bt Abas, Muhammed Bin Yusof………….115
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15. FALSAFAH ETIKA MENURUT ISLAM DAN BARAT: SUATU PERBANDINGAN
Muhamad Afiq Bin Mohammad Nadzree, Mohd Radhi Ibrahim…………126
ةعقيدة التثليث عند النصارى: دراسة تحليلية نقدي .16
MOHAMMAD NASHIEF S. DISOMIMBA, KALSOM AL…..........134
17. KONSEP AKHLAK MENURUT HAMKA.
Nurul Fathia Nadia Binti Md Hashim, Mohd Radhi Ibrahim…………….144
منهج الفارابي في التّوفيق بين الّدين والفلسفة من خالل نظريّة االتصال .18
Nouna Sammari…………………..152
19. A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF IBN SINA.
Yasin Bin Md. Rafangi @ Md Rafee…………….168
20. PERSPECTIVES OF ISLAMIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP THROUGH MAQASID
SHARIAH IN CREATING PROSPERITY AND SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY WELL-
BEING.
Nurul Ayunni Binti Hamdi……………..175
21. KONSEP AKHLAK MENURUT PANDANGAN IMAM AL-GHAZALI.
Nurul Shifaq Binti Ruslan, Mohd Radhi Ibrahim……………189
22. KONSEP PENDIDIKAN MENURUT IBNU KHALDUN.
Nurul Huda Binti Abdullah, Mohd Radhi Ibrahim……………201
23. FALSAFAH YANG MEMBACA KEPADA KEBENARAN DAN KEBATILAN
Mohamad Hasmimie Bin Mohd Yusof, Mohd Radhi Ibrahim………….212
24. FILEM SEBAGAI MEDIA DAKWAH ISLAM.
Mohamad Shafiei Ayub, Abdul Rauf Ridzuan, Nor Adina Abdul Kadir, Noor Aziera
Mohamad Rohana, Aini Faezah Ramlan ……………….217
25. ISU-ISU BERKAITAN KETAATAN KEPADA PEMIMPIN DAN IMPLIKASINYA
TERHADAP AKIDAH MUSLIM
Khairul Azhar Bin Meerangani, Ahmad Faqih Bin Ibrahim……………228
26. ‘UMRAN IBN KHALDUN: SUATU ULASAN
Abdul Qayuum Bin Abdul Razak, S. Salahudin Suyurno , Norsaeidah
Jamaludin…………236
27. PENGAJIAN FALSAFAH: SEJARAH DAN MASA HADAPANNYA DI MALAYSIA
Ahmad Sunawari Long…………..241
28. SINKRETISME BUDAYA DALAM KEHIDUPAN BARU KOMUNITI MUALLAF
Azarudin Bin Awang, Azman Bin Che Mat……………..254
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29. A PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION ON THE EPISTEMOLOGY OF INTEGRATION
OF AQLI AND NAQLI KNOWLEDGE
Nurul Ashikin Binti Ahmat Miskam…………263
30. KONSEP DAN AMALAN HISBAH SERTA RELEVANSI TERHADAP
PENGURUSAN AKIDAH DI MALAYSIA: SATU PENGAMATAN AWAL
Sophian Bin Rambli………….271
31. MODEL DAN PENDEKATAN SINKRETISME AGAMA MENURUT
PERSPEKTIF SARJANA BARAT
Ros Aiza Mohd Mokhtar……………..280
32. FUNDAMENTALS OF FAITH AND GOOD DEEDS IN THE QURAN AND
THE BIBLE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY
Mohd Rosmizi bin Abd Rahman……………..290
33. EFFECT OF ‘PROFITABLE RIBA’ TO THE SOCIETY DEVELOPMENT
THROUGH THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY
Fadhlin Sakinah Binti Mohd Husaini…………………..307
34. PERKAHWINAN REMAJA DAN KEMATANGAN EMOSI DALAM
PERKAHWINAN.
Samirah Shamsudin………….318
35. ZAINAB AL-GHAZALI: SEJARAH KEBANGKITAN MUJAHIDAH ISLAM DI
MESIR
Ummi Zainab Mohd Ghazali, Muhammad Azizan B. Sabjan………….331
36. FALSAFAH AKHLAK MENURUT IMAM FAKHR AL-DIN AR-RAZI.
Zulaikha Dewi Laila Binti Zukree, Mohd Radhi Ibrahim………..340
37. PENILAIAN AL-GHAZALI TERHADAP KONSEP MAKRIFATULLAH MENURUT
AHLI FALSAFAH
Mohd Hamidi Ismail…………….348
38. KEBEBASAN MEMILIH AGAMA: PENGERTIANNYA MENURUT AL-QURAN
DAN BIBLE SERTA DILEMA PERTUKARAN AGAMA DI MALAYSIA.
Mohd Faridh Hafez Mhd Omar, Haslina Ibrahim …………….357
39. THE INTEGRATION OF BEHAVIOURS AND SOCIAL COMPETENCIES OF
LEADERSHIP AND ITS IMPACT ON EMPLOYEES CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOUR
AMONG STAFF OF COMMERCIAL BANKS IN WEST LIBYAN.
Salim Mohamed S. Alajili…………..370
40. ILMU FALSAFAH ATAS JALAN KENABIAN: PANDANGAN BADIUZZAMAN
SAID NURSI DALAM KITAB RASAIL AN-NUR.
Muaz Hj. Mohd Noor…………383
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41. PENGURUSAN KHILAF DALAM AKIDAH ISLAM.
Qurratu Aini Binti Mohd. Fuat…………..390
42. PERSEPSI GOLONGAN MUALAF MENGENAI KEBERKESANAN DAKWAH
MELALUI MEDIA SOSIAL; SATU PEMERHATIAN AWAL TERHADAP
DAKWAH MELALUI FACEBOOK
Sofia Hayati Yusoff, Mohd Faizal Kasmani, Rosninawati Hussin, Suria Hani Ab
Rahman, Fauziah Hassan, Kalsom Ali…………….406
43. FAKTOR PELAJAR KAFA MAMPU KHATAM AL-QURAN: KAJIAN KES.
Azman Che Mat………….408
44. KALIMAH ALLAH DI ALAM MELAYU: PENELITIAN TERHADAP
MAKSUD DAN PENGGUNAANNYA DALAM KITAB-KITAB AKIDAH
TULISAN JAWI
Roslizawati Mohd Ramly…………….426
45. PERSPEKTIF ISMAIL RAJI AL-FARUQI TERHADAP BEBERAPA ISU DALAM
PLURALISME AGAMA
Ahmad Sabri Bin Osman, Mohd Farid Mohd Sharif, Raihaniah Zakaria..........434
46. AL-MASLAHAH AL-MURSALAH SEBAGAI JUSTIFIKASI PENOLAKAN
DAKWAAN AMALAN BID’AH.
Mohd. Huefiros Efizi Bin Husain…………455
47. PLURALISME AGAMA DALAM KALANGAN MASYARAKAT ISLAM DARI
PERSPEKTIF TERMINOLOGI, CIRI-CIRI DAN PERKEMBANGANNYA DI
MALAYSIA
Marina Munira Abdul Mutalib…………….474
48. EXPLORING RELIGIOUS PLURALISM: REFINING THE DEFINING
Haslina Ibrahim……………..489
Prosiding Seminar Kebangsaan Pengajian Akidah dan Agama (SIGMA 8)
25 April 2018
489
Exploring Religious Pluralism: Refining the Defining323
Haslina Ibrahim
Associate Professor Dr.
Department of Usul al-Din & Comparative Religion
Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge & Human Sciences
International Islamic University Malaysia
Abstract
In 1985 John Hick (1922 –2012) introduced the philosophy of religious pluralism in
providing a solution to theological conflict of salvation and the religious conflicting truth-
claim that in his impression, hampering religious coexistence. Salvation, he criticized, is
the root of exclusivism and a transformation from within religion is needed to rid of it.
Hickean pluralism has received support, rejection and adaptation from scholars, activists
and leaders of diverse religions until present day. Six years later, Diana L. Eck started the
Pluralism Project focussing on the diverse religious contour in the United States in keeping
with the American liberal democratic way of life and the notion of civil religion. Eck’s
version of pluralism has been receiving wider acceptance in terms of its definition and
operation. Today, after more than thirty years since its inception, the philosophy continues
to invite debates on its definition, meaning and practises. This paper therefore, hopes to
explore the debates and to share some insights in view of both, Hick’s and Eck’s
foundational role. In the quest of refining its meaning, the author will also argue whether
religious pluralism and religious plurality are two faces of the same coin. The paper
concludes that an evolution of meaning is indispensable in any given term and it will
continue to take place. Nevertheless, the context from which religious pluralism emerged
is foundational to its conceptualization and philosophical elucidation. Hence, refinement
of religious pluralism needs to consider its original context.
Keyword: Religious Pluralism, religious plurality, religious coexistence.
Introduction
Religious pluralism is a philosophy introduced in the late twentieth century by John Hick
following the publication of series of work on Christian theology of religions starting with
God and the Universe of Faith (1973) and God Has Many Names (1980). He first
introduced the term in 1985 in a work titled Problems of Religious Pluralism and four years
later he published a work that justifies for the vitality of religious pluralism titled An
Interpretation of Religion. Hick echoed Wilfred Cantwell Smith’s criticism to exclusivism
that dominate the Christian theology of other religions which lead to the publication of A
Christian Theology of Religions: The Rainbow of Faith (1995).324 For the period of almost
323 This is a keynote paper presented at the Seminar Kebangsaan Pengajian Akidah dan Agama (SIGMA 8)
on the 25th of April 2018 at the Islamic Science University of Malaysia (USIM). 324 John Hick, A Christian Theology of Religions: The Rainbow of Faiths, 1st American ed (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995).
Prosiding Seminar Kebangsaan Pengajian Akidah dan Agama (SIGMA 8)
25 April 2018
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fifty years, he has dedicated his life examining Christian theology, risked the charge as
being heretical due to his controversial interpretation of Christianity and promoting
religious pluralism.325
Another scholar who pursued the discourse of religious pluralism is Diana L. Eck a
professor of Harvard University. She launched the Pluralism Project diverting religious
pluralism away from theology.326 She acquired some interest in the issue of religious
diversity when she studied Hinduism and she appreciated the fact that America has
gradually becoming a pluralistic country. The September eleven incident has further alerted
her on the reality of the religious life in the 21st century America. That has brought to the
publication of A New Religious America: How a "Christian Country" Has Become the
World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation.327 She redefines religious pluralism as the
engagement that creates a common society from all that diversity. The criteria for pluralism
in her opinion involves active engagement with diversity, knowledge of differences,
disclaiming relativism, subscription to the American Constitution of the common ground
rule “out of many, one” (E Pluribus Unum) and nurturing constructive dialogue.328
There have been much support for religious pluralism as much as rejection. Interestingly,
there has been also conditional acceptance that implicates modification of its definition,
meaning and understanding of religious pluralism. This paper therefore, will explore such
adaptation cases and examine if they are sound enough in refining religious pluralism hence
making it an inevitable philosophy for understanding the plural-truth claims of religions.
Religious Pluralism and the Evolution of Its Meaning.
In comparison to Eck, Hick’s version of religious pluralism receives divided responses
from the academia and the public alike. Hick developed the philosophy on a theological
ground challenging the basic religious conviction that claims that one particular religion is
a valid response to the divine. In reality, there are many such claims. Can they all be true
or false? Hick challenged the contemporary Christian position as inspired by Karl Barth
that Christianity is the true religion because it was God who commissioned it with the
authority to be a missionary religion so that man would abandon his religion for
Christianity.329 Such position is categorised as exclusivism for it assumes that one’s own
tradition is the exclusive beneficiary of a vital gift in the form of salvation, blessing and
truth and that humankind beyond its borders lacks that gift. Thus each tradition is unique
325 John Hick, John Hick : An Autobiography (Oxford: One World Publications, 2002). He discussed this in
two chapters; Chapter eleven and twenty three. 326 ‘The Pluralism Project Harvard University’, accessed 19 October 2017, http://pluralism.org/. 327 D.L. Eck, A New Religious America: How a ‘Christian Country’ Has Become the World’s Most
Religiously Diverse Nation, Revised (HarperCollins, 2009),
https://books.google.com.my/books?id=oxAQJ8aVi9gC. 328 ‘The Pluralism Project Harvard University’. 329 John Hick, God Has Many Names, 1st ed (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1982), 88.
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and final.330 Hence a particular tradition should not be generalized or become the standard
for evaluating other tradition/s.
Salvation is another theological dilemma that bothers Hick for the claim to salvation
substantiates religious exclusivism. Speaking from his Christian background, Hick argued
that the absoluteness of Christianity is backed up by its doctrine in particular the doctrine
of Incarnation. Hick has written two important books debating the doctrine; The Myth of
God Incarnate331 in 1977 and The Metaphor of God Incarnate332 in 1993. The two books
proposed for new understanding of Incarnation that Jesus did not acknowledge himself as
belonging to any one of the Trinitarian personae. Rather he perceived himself as a Jewish
prophet and not god. It was the Church that took the metaphorical language literally. Hick
propagates the possibility of plural incarnations for they are in fact the embodiment of
values and truths that reflect the divine. Another book he co-authored with Paul F. Knitter
echoes the similar debate titled The Myth of Christian Uniqueness challenging the
Christians to move beyond the conservative exclusivist and liberal inclusivist approaches
that dominated the Christians attitude towards other religions.333 The three books
demonstrated Hick’s courageous call for a theological transformation in religion; from
Christocentric to theocentric conception of salvation. Adopting the Kantian philosophy,
Hick attributed the former as the phenomenon god (the real) and the later as noumenon god
(the Real an Sich). At this point of division, a theological transformation is inevitable and
every pluralist should dare to risk.
In addition Hick believed that religion is contextual; a person follows the religion of his
context. Hence religion is but human interpretation of the divine in a given context.
Therefore, subjectivity is the case and no one religion can claim superior to the other. Hick
further substantiated his call for subjectivity by using the symbolical expressions of
prominent sufi masters. His citation of Al-Rumi’s poem is one of the most frequently
quoted by the later pluralists; “the lamps are different but the light is the same, it comes
from beyond.” Hick also found that the Wittgensteinian notion of language game useful to
explain his thesis on religions’ plural truth-claims. Hence ‘the real’ is seen as a different
manifestation of ‘the Real an Sich. In addition to human experiential, Hick regarded
plurality of religious belief as semantic issue. The many religions are in fact a bunch of
words under the notion of a family-resemblance concept. They are the manifestations of
the Real an Sich in the different versions of the real by means of different expressions.
330 John B. Cobb, ‘Christian Witness in a Plural World’, in The Experience of Religious Diversity, ed. John
Hick and Hasan Askari, Avebury Series in Philosophy (Aldershot, Hants, England ; Brookfield, Vt., U.S.A:
Gower, 1985), 5. 331 John Hick, ed., The Myth Of God Incarnate (London: SCM Press, 1977). 332 John Hick, The Metaphor Of God Incarnate: Christology In A Pluralistic Age, 1st American ed (Louisville, Ky: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993). 333 John Hick and Paul F. Knitter, eds., The Myth Of Christian Uniqueness: Toward A Pluralistic Theology Of Religions, Faith Meets Faith Series (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2005), viii.
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The graph illustrates for Hick’s core arguments of religious pluralism. Though Hick has
been receiving strong criticism from the Churches due to his critical approach to the
Christian doctrine, yet his call has stimulated the contemporary as well as the later
pluralists’ enthusiasm for the philosophy. It is impossible to ignore his discourse of
religious pluralism334 for he had published more than fifty books and articles dealing with
the epistemological, ontological, theological, eschatological, spiritual and philosophical
issues in relation to religious pluralism. Those works demonstrated the evolution of his
intellectual commitment to religious pluralism commencing from with God and the
Universe of Faith335 in 1973 until his last book Faith and Knowledge: A Modern
Introduction to the Problem of Religious Knowledge336 published in 2011.
Diana L. Eck however moved religious pluralism away from Hick’s theological
ramifications. She started off with a small scale initiative between her, her colleagues and
her students’ interacting with the diverse religious communities in Boston. That initiative
has led to the birth of Pluralism Project in 1991 which secured a number of grant from
prominent funders.337 In comparison to Hick who was disturbed with the theological
dilemma of salvation, Eck was more challenged with the social reality of the American
multicultural and multi-religious society. She acknowledged that Hick nailed the point as
he urged for a revolution in the religious understanding (of God). However, she thought
that Hick’s Copernican theology has failed to address the reality of diversity that is taking
place in this world which is the dynamic interaction of the many religions. As a matter of
fact, she exerted that people of different religious traditions are in constant interaction and
need, and that their problem is not only limited to the understanding of the Truth but also
334 Thomas William Ruston, ‘The John Hick Papers: Religious Pluralism in the Archives’, The Expository Times 128, no. 1 (October 2016): 19, https://doi.org/10.1177/0014524615621451. 335 John Hick, God And The Universe Of Faiths: Essays In The Philosophy Of Religion (Oxford: Oneworld, 1993). 336 John Hick, Faith And Knowledge: A Modern Introduction To The Problem Of Religious Knowledge (s.l.: Literary Licensing, 2011). 337 For the list of funders refer to http://pluralism.org/about/our-work/funding-and-partnerships/ (accessed April 13th 2018.
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the problem of relationship with one another. She insisted that a pluralist recognizes the
need for a new forms of living together and communicating with one another.338
Eck made a point that pluralism is more than diversity or plurality. Pluralism in her
definition is the engagement of the differences in the often-difficult yet creative way that
scholars can observe, investigate and interpret.339 Though she seemed to be more interested
on the empirical aspect of pluralism that permeates in the social structure of the American
citizen, but she denied of limiting pluralism to its phenomenological meaning. Pluralism to
her, is more than plurality. The latter according to her is just diversity, plain and simple,
splendid, colourful and maybe even threatening. Pluralism on the other hand, requires
participation, positive engagement, not mere recognition of the differences but the effort to
understand differences and commonalities through dialogue. 340
Eck strived to realize pluralism in the American context that will involve; active
engagement, more than tolerance it seeks for understanding, real commitments instead of
sheer relativism, respect and differences instead of syncretism and constructive dialogue.341
Therefore her Pluralism Project is directed towards achieving a set of tangible objectives
stated briefly as follows;342
1. To document and better understand the American religious
demography focussing on the areas where plurality are more visible
2. To study the American religious communities and their forms of
adaptation and encounter with the others
3. To conduct case studies looking at the response of Christian and
Jewish communities to the others
4. To discern the emerging meaning of religious pluralism and to
consider its real challenges and opportunities in the American context.
Eck’s Pluralism Project is embarked from the complexity of the American pluralistic
society. By plural, it includes the immigrants; ethnically they are among others, ranging
from Asians, Latinos, Caribbeans, Africans, Arabs, and Europeans, religiously they are
Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Bahais including pseudo-religious
movements and it is also essential to mention that every religions are not homogenous.
Another group category which is equally challenging are the atheists and agnostics. The
national motto of e pluribus unum: “out of many, one” and the notion of civil religion along
with the country ideals of democracy, freedom and justice, are equal challenges to her
338 Diana L. Eck, Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey From Bozeman To Banaras (Boston: Beacon Press, 2003), 190 &191. 339 http://irdialogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/FINAL-Pluralism-Problems-and-Promise.pdf 340 Eck, Encountering God, 192. 341 For details refer to http://pluralism.org/encounter/todays-challenges/from-diversity-to-pluralism/ (accessed April 13th 2018) 342 For the details of the mission refer to http://pluralism.org/about/our-work/mission/ (accessed April 13th 2018)
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Pluralism Project. On top of these, the September eleven catastrophic incident has triggered
a new hurdle to the American pluralism for there have been consistent reports on
xenophobia and Islamophobia.
It is also interesting to note that just like Hick, she was initially challenged by religious
differences as perceived in the Christian theology of which she responded in a work
published in 1993 titled Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey from Bozeman to
Banaras.343 In line with one of the objectives of her project which is to document the
American religious demography, a year later she published World Religions in Boston, A
Guide to Communities and Resources.344 In 1997 the project produced an interactive CD-
ROM that introduced the world religions in the American context titled On Common
Ground: World Religions in America.345 A more profound work on American pluralism is
published approximately ten years after the inception of her project under a provoking title
A New Religious America: How a "Christian Country" Has Become the World's Most
Religiously Diverse Nation.346 Eck holds the pride of a ‘new’ America that is taking shape
in the form of people of different faith and traditions begin to cooperate in concrete ways
for example, the Buddhist pilgrim had launched an interfaith pilgrimage of the middle
passage by bringing together American “pilgrims” of all races and religions, they walked
fifteen to twenty miles a day for seven months visiting religious sites.347 Nevertheless the
reality of religious life is much more complex than what perhaps the philosophy of religious
could comprehend. Hence just like any other modern philosophy, the quest for an ideal
meaning continues.
In Search of an Ideal Meaning of Religious Pluralism
Both Hick and Eck have greatly influence the discourse of religious pluralism. The former
introduced the term religious pluralism and laid its premises and foundation from within
theology. The latter on the other hand, attempts to refine the term as a social and moral
ideology focuses on making the term a workable policy for a pragmatic governance. Both
scholars however agreed that neither religious exclusivism nor inclusivism should resume
as a religious doctrine and in particular both are critical of exclusivism in Christianity.
Hick was very influential to a number of theologians despite facing the heretical charges
from the Church institutions against his criticism and reinterpretation of Incarnation being
the central doctrines of Christianity. His call for religious pluralism echoes in the work of
343 Eck, Encountering God. 344 D. L. Eck and Elinor Pierce, World Religions in Boston: A Guide to Communities and Resources, vol. Fourth Edition (Cambridge: The Pluralism Project, 2000), http://www.pluralism.org/wrgb. 345 Diana L. Eck and Pluralism Project (Harvard University), On Common Ground : World Religions In America, 1 computer optical disc : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 user’s guide (New York, NY : Columbia University Press, 1997). 346 Diana L. Eck, A New Religious America: How a ‘Christian Country’ Has Now Become the World’s Most Religiously Diverse Nation, 1st ed (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001). 347 Eck, 10.
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prominent scholars from different religions to name few of them, Arvind Sharma, John B.
Cobb, Mahmoud Ayoub, Stanley Samartha, Masao Abe, Raimon Panikkar, Paul F. Knitter
and Leonard Swindler.
Arvind Sharma in his defence of religious pluralism denies that the philosophy is
synonymous to religious diversity attesting to the idea that several clones constitute a
plurality without constituting a diversity. He insisted that the widespread use of the word
religious pluralism implies that there is a force from within it as much as the idea it
embodies. On top of that religious pluralism is an inescapable fact of life due to an
inescapable human condition for “life is a dome of many-colored glass, stains the white
radiance of eternity.”348
John B. Cobb reiterated Hick’s calls for a reformation in the understanding of Christian
theology of other religions. A work he published in 1975 titled Christ in a Pluralistic Age
addresses the existence of variety of great traditions and their diverse claims as
opportunities for the affirmation of the Christian faith without having to fall for
relativism.349 He introduced the notion of Christ as a process of creative transformation;
this requires a Christian to deepen his understanding of Christ so he is able to accept the
inner appropriation of Christ in other traditions. The process of creative transformation
through openness to other traditions is the avenue of which religious pluralism pertains to
a Christian experience. In another work he illustrated the creative transformation as
offering a truth which includes the truth of other traditions as well as the truth distinctive
to the Christian faith. For example, a Buddhist will not be asked to abandon his faith.
Instead, a Christian has to understand the Buddhist wisdom and later to offer him a
Christian truth which is informed by the Buddhist wisdom.350
Religious pluralism according to Mahmoud Ayoub in its simple meaning refers to the
recognition of the multiplicity and diversity of religions as a natural or divinely willed
phenomenon. However, religious pluralism as a framework is defined as constructive
dialogue among the followers of the various religions to be recognized as legitimate ways
to the Truth or Ultimate Reality.351 Mahmoud Ayoub echoes Hick’s ideas that every
religious followers have the right to its truth-claim and salvation is not a monopoly of one
particular religion. Citing from the Qur’an he views that the verse in Ali Imran 3:85
“Anyone who desires a faith other than Islam, it shall not be accepted of him; and in the
hereafter he shall be among the losers” should not be understood in exclusive meaning.
The word Islam according to him does not pertain to Islam as an institutionalized religion.
348 Arvind Sharma and Kathleen Margaret Dugan, eds., A Dome of Many Colors: Studies in Religious Pluralism, Identity, and Unity (Harrisburg, Pa: Trinity Press International, 1999), 2–5. 349 John B. Cobb, Christ in a Pluralistic Age (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1998). 350 Cobb, ‘Christian Witness in a Plural World’, 161. 351 Mahmoud Ayoub, ‘Religious Pluralism and The Quran’ (IIIT, n.d.), https://www.iiit.org/uploads/4/9/9/6/49960591/religious_pluralism_and_the_qur.pdf.Accessed on 14th of April 2018.
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Instead it signifies a submissive attitude, an ideal relationship between God and all His
creations. In support of religious pluralism he claims that the Qur’an speaks of it as signs
(ayat) of God (Al-Maidah 5:48) and that God legitimizes the Jews, the Sabaeans, the
Christians and the Magians in Hajj 22:17. He listed the criteria that validate the truth claim
made by religion; the religion is revealed, the affirmation of Tawhid, belief in God and the
final day, and the propagation of righteous living. He further claim that the Qur’an makes
on the title of the People of the Book, their scriptures, their prophets, their laws are
attestation to its acceptance of religious pluralism.
Paul F. Knitter is one dedicated pluralists. In 1987 he co-authored with John Hick a
controversial work titled The Myth of Christian Uniqueness; Toward a Pluralistic
Theology of Religions. His other two books are no less stimulating; No Other Name? A
Critical Survey of Christian Attitudes Toward the World Religions352 and One Earth Many
Religions: Multifaith Dialogue and Global Responsibility.353 In the later work, he resorted
to historical, philosophical, ethical, theological and scriptural evidences challenged the
notion of Christianity as the only religion. Knitter insisted that the world today is
experiencing changes in terms of human interaction. The Christians especially are
confronted that despite centuries of missionaries they have not been able to remove the
reality of religious pluralism. A simple yet profound insight of religious pluralism is
pushing people of religions that “there is no one and only way.”
Leonard Swindler called his version of religious pluralism ‘a universal theology of
religions” and by theology, he meant a systematic, reasoned reflection held by one’s
conviction. Similar to Hick, he was calling for a shift in the Christian theology of religions.
To illustrate the shift he challenges the Christians, to speak of the insights into the meaning
of human life given them by the Christian tradition in categories, terms, images used in
other religions. He thought this would require a set of “theological” language, terms,
categories, and images that is common to humanity. Therefore it is a set of ‘immanent
human language from within’ not divine or transcendent (from without).
The purpose of deliberating these pluralists insight is to substantiate the author claim that
theology is very pertinent to religious pluralism and its definition. Since Hick’s
introduction of the term, its meaning has evolved and will continue to evolve at the hands
of pluralist theologians. An interesting yet a discreet fact about these theologians is that no
matter how liberal and revolutionary their demand for a reform theology and in tolerating
others’ paths as one of the many paths, none of them decided to abandon his own path.
352 P.F. Knitter, No Other Name?: A Critical Survey of Christian Attitudes Toward the World Religions, American Society of Missiology Series (SCM Press, 1985), https://books.google.com.my/books?id=Yf_EQgAACAAJ. 353 Paul F. Knitter, One Earth, Many Religions: Multifaith Dialogue And Global Responsibility (Maryknoll, N.Y: Orbis Books, 1995).
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Moving to the next meaning of religious pluralism promoted by Diana L. Eck, it is evident
from her definition the distinction between plurality, pluralism and diversity. She regarded
pluralism an interpretation of plurality, an evaluation of religious and cultural diversity.
Religious pluralism in her definition is not merely the existence of plethora of religions but
the engagement, the active effort to understand differences and commonality through
dialogue.354 Therefore, there is an element of normativity in her understanding of pluralism
that it recognizes interreligious interactions as normal and natural.355 In support of Eck,
Anantanand Rambachan contributed his insight on what he regarded as the positive side of
civic pluralism against the theological pluralism356 of which he quoted Eck “positive civic
view of pluralism clashes directly with the negative religious views of pluralism held by
some conservative Christians.”357 In Eck’s view, it is possible and important for pluralism
to take from a fresher ground and in the case of the American citizens, they are to resolve
into the covenants of citizenship a place where they adhere to a common ground.358
There has been positive and negative responses towards her philosophy. Christ Beneke
appreciates her exposition of the modern religious pluralism though he claimed that Eck
overlooked the fact that religious pluralism has been the American context since the
eighteen centuries.359 The context of that period however was very much intra-religion
instead of inter-religion. However it is an alarming fact that it was during such period that
the Protestant Americans started to appreciate the pluralistic ideals when many of them
were also acting against the ideals. Beneke thought that religious pluralism is not a recent
development. As a matter of fact, it has long been engrained in the Amerian soil and it was
originated in intra-religious context before it could penetrate into inter-religious context.
James V. Spickard praised Eck for her ideas of engagement. However he brought few
statistics that may confront Eck’s analysis of the American public. He relates to a number
of statistics in sociological research in which the engagement project has failed to
materialize especially among the non-white immigrants.360 In addition, since Eck was so
much concern on how the immigrants have largely shaped the pluralistic canvas of the
American public, she seemed to overlook the fact that 22% out of the American public
declares that they are not affiliated to any religion and that 70.6% American Christian are
actually divided into different churches. Spickard wonders if Eck’s religious pluralism
354 Eck, Encountering God, 192. 355 ‘Diversity vs. Pluralism: Reflections on the Current Situation in the United States’, Religions 8, no. 9 (28 August 2017): 2, https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8090169. 356 Diana L. Eck, Democracy and the New Religious Pluralism, ed. Thomas F. Banchoff (Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2007), 243. 357 Eck, A New Religious America, 80. Also see Anantanand Rambachan, ‘The Hindu Tree on America’s Sacred Ground’, in Taking Religious Pluralism Seriously: Spiritual Politics on America’s Sacred Ground, ed. Barbara A. Mc Graw and Jo Renee Formicola (Waco, Tex: Baylor University Press, 2005), 177. 358 Eck, A New Religious America, 24. 359 Chris Beneke, Beyond Toleration: The Religious Origins of American Pluralism (Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), 12. 360 Spickard, ‘Diversity vs. Pluralism’, 2.
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would accounted for the religiously unaffiliated group as well as the diverse Christian
groups. If Eck’s pluralism project overlooked the intra-religion divisions of Christianity, it
seems that her project would cater only for the remaining 6% of the immigrant who is now
being part of the American public.
Eck’s discourses of pluralism is not as controversial as Hick. Her notion of pluralism is
conditioned with interreligious engagement and not limited to the literal meaning of
pluralism. She acknowledged the theological baggage of religious pluralism as she is aware
of Hick’s soteriological religious pluralism. However, she took religious pluralism into
different direction to meet the requirements of the American setting. Perhaps, Eck deserved
the praise for detaching the philosophy of religious pluralism from its theological clutch.
Hence, since Eck’s definition, the word religious pluralism seems to loosen its theological
sense and became globally subscribed.
In Search of an Alternative to Religious Pluralism
Following Hick’s discourse of religious pluralism, are debates and proposals for an
alternative philosophy for making sense the diverse truth-claims in religion. Muhammad
Leggenhausen is one of the scholars who have responded to Hick’s pluralism. He classified
Hick’s pluralism as reductive pluralism. It is the type of pluralism that hold the idea that
all the religions/traditions/denominations share some degree of value in any element that
is common to them.361 In Hick case, it is salvation. Reductive pluralism is in fact not neutral
but a philosophy of moral values. Leggenhausen listed at least seven types of under the
reductive pluralism those are; soteriological, normative, epistemological, alethic, ethical,
deontological and hermetic.362 Despite the different emphasis, all these types of reductive
pluralism share some degree of value in any of the common element found among them.
This means that what is good about religions is what is common to a plurality of them.
Leggenhausen offers a non-reductive pluralism of which he describes as; the view that each
religions has unique features through which God may guide people, even if there is nothing
common to all the religions. For example, every religion has its own unique teaching to be
acquired by its followers to achieve the ultimate. But it does not matter which teaching will
have an effect on the followers. Considering this definition, salvation for example should
not be taken as common since every religion talk about it in different terms. Hick
unfortunately has made salvation common to all religions and this is the flaw of his
pluralism. The non-reductive pluralism on the other hand stressed that no single religion is
reduced to a particular doctrine or teaching. As a matter of fact, each religion is uniquely
guided hence normativity is unlikely the way to understand that religion.
361 Muhammad Legenhausen, ‘Plurality of Religious Pluralisms’, Islamic Research Institute for Culture & Thought 1, no. 2 (2009): 7. 362 Legenhausen, 18–36.
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Interestingly another scholar would prefer religious pluralism to be normative hence the
publication of a work titled The Qur’an and Normative Religious Pluralism: A Thematic
Study of the Qur’an.363 Normative pluralism is linked to the ethical sphere of religious
pluralism and the locus of discussion is the terrestrial dimension is of which pertains to the
ethico-behavioural paradigm. Having ethic as foundational to normative religious
pluralism, it accentuates the most significant ethical aspects which are freedom and human
dignity as primary values of society. These values are well embraced in the Qur’an and
hadith of the prophet (pbuh).
Freedom is a universal and is an unchangeable human value. Freedom in general and
freedom of belief in particular are an inviolable human rights. When freedom is paired up
with morality it increases the level of human responsibility towards the preservation of the
right to freedom. When freedom is violated (as in the case of freedom of belief) it may
resulted into interreligious breakdown. Human dignity is directly linked to the subject of
human rights. The Qur’an deliberates the essential reasons for human dignity; the creation
of man is the best form of creation, the universally honoured status granted to man and the
dignified status of man as intellectual beings endowed with knowledge, wisdom and free
will.
Apart from the two core values, there are other corresponding values pertinent to normative
religious pluralism, those are; integrity, prohibition of reviling what is sacred to others and
forgiveness. Integrity is claimed the most central inward dimension of normative religious
pluralism. Integrity avoids normative religious pluralism from being a mere lips service.
Integrity helps to ensure that treatment to other faiths is executed with truthfulness despite
their differences. Prohibition of reviling what is sacred to others emerges from the two
prime ethic which are freedom of belief and dignity. The Qur’an made it clear that the
security is made not only the freedom and the dignity of the religious people but also what
is sacred to them. Therefore any abusive behaviour towards people’s beliefs and gods
cannot be perceived as Muslim legal right. Forgiveness as an ethic essential to normative
religious pluralism arises from the fact that human relationships often suffer from levels of
transgression. Forgiveness is meant to reconcile broken relationship and serving as a
healing factor.
It is incomplete to speak of religious pluralism without inserting the responses from the
esoteric approaches since they are unique and substantial in providing alternatives to
religious pluralism. Sayyed Hossein Nasr would be one of the most frequently discussed
as he has been actively responding to interreligious relation issues. Nasr has been compared
to Hick and the most basic reason for that is because both have quoted from Ibn Arabi and
Jalal al-Din al-Rumi to support for their ideas on interreligious encounter.364 In comparison
to Hick whose religious pluralism is a philosophical attempt for understanding religious
363 Arif Kemil Abdullah, The Qur’an And Normative Religious Pluralism, 2015. 364 One of the important works that discusses this is Adnan Aslan, Religious Pluralism In Christian And Islamic Philosophy: The Thought Of John Hick And Seyyed Hossein Nasr (Richmond, England: Curzon, 1998).
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diversity, Nasr is convinced with perennial philosophy for making sense of the plural truth
claims of religions. Nasr goes beyond reasoning or the exoteric tools for understanding
religious plurality, and relied upon the esoteric method. He reiterates an esoteric scholar
idea, Frithjof Schoun on Transcendent Unity of Religions of which he thought the issue of
religious diversity can be made understood. Nasr allegation is that it is impossible to make
sense of diversity using exoteric tools be it rational or empirical for people would still
resolve into plurality and diversity. The way is only through esoterism of which the
Transcendent Unity of Religion propagates that the unity of religions can only be
apprehended at the level of spirituality. It is the level of which every religion and tradition
coincides. However one needs to comprehend the criteria of a perennialist to be able to
arrive at such idea of unity. Hence plurality is the terrestrial manifestation of the
Transcendent God who belongs to the extra-terrestrial domain to which level the idea of a
single Truth resolved itself. Hence there cannot be unity at the level of exoteric but plurality
and pluralism being the philosophy and the ideology for making sense of diversity.
Finally, it is also incumbent not to present those scholars who support for the use of the
term religious pluralism and inclined to take its literal meaning which is religious plurality
and to reinterpret it away from Hick’s philosophy. Many works are written in this context
and among them are Yeoh Seng Guan in Managing Sensitivities: Religious Pluralism, Civil
Society And Inter-Faith Relations In Malaysia and Actually Existing Religious Pluralism
in Kuala Lumpur,365 Rita Camilleri in Religious Pluralism in Malaysia: the Journey of
Three Prime Ministers,366 Todd Green in Religious Pluralism and Civic Rights in a
“Muslim Nation”: An Analysis of Prophet Muhammad’s Covenants with Christians,367
Hashim Kamali in Diversity and Pluralism in Quranic Perspective, 368 Asian Religious
Pluralism,369 and Osman Bakar in Islam and the Challenge of Diversity and Pluralism:
Must Islam Reform Itself?370 To these scholars, religious pluralism simply means religious
plurality and its major business is to propagate positive coexistence among the different
religions and traditions.
365 Yeoh Seng Guan, ‘Managing Sensitivities: Religious Pluralism, Civil Society And Inter-Faith Relations In Malaysia’, The Round Table 94, no. 382 (October 2005): 629–40, https://doi.org/10.1080/00358530500303700. 366 Rita Camilleri, ‘Religious Pluralism in Malaysia: The Journey of Three Prime Ministers’, Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations 24, no. 2 (April 2013): 225–40, https://doi.org/10.1080/09596410.2013.772327. 367 Craig Considine, ‘Religious Pluralism and Civic Rights in a “Muslim Nation”: An Analysis of Prophet Muhammad’s Covenants with Christians’, Religions 7, no. 2 (4 February 2016): 15, https://doi.org/10.3390/rel7020015. 368 Mohammad Hashim Kamali, ‘Diversity And Pluralism: A Qur’ānic Perspective’, ISLAM AND CIVILISATIONAL RENEWAL, n.d., 28. 369 Imtiyaz Yusuf, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, and Assumption University (Bangkok, Thailand), eds., ASEAN Religious Pluralism: The Challenges of Building a Socio-Cultural Community (Bangkok, Thailand: Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, 2014). 370 Osman Bakar, ‘Islam And The Challenge Of Diversity And Pluralism: Must Islam Reform Itself?’, ISLAM AND CIVILISATIONAL RENEWAL, n.d., 19.
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The Causes for the Struggle of Definition
The ambiguity and complexity of religious pluralism has been much discoursed by the
pluralist and non-pluralist scholars alike. The fact that the use is widespread at present time
demonstrates the various realities and the various meanings it conveys.371 Some scholars
used the term in descriptive and some in evaluative sense of meaning. Some takes the
meaning at the level of empirical reality while some others take it as an ideological and an
evaluative response to such reality. Religious pluralism has also been attributed to the
‘Western democratic’ societies given the fact that such pluralism is based on the notion of
human right and freedom. Eck’s definition of religious pluralism pertain to this context.
The context of the American soil aligned with democracy, the notion of civil religion,
human right and freedom.
Religious pluralism can be regarded the by-product of a combination of circumstances
ranging from modern philosophy and the study of religions, colonialism, emigration and
most importantly globalization which altogether have provided more avenues for
interreligious encounter. The root of the struggle of meaning however can be attributed to
the epistemological problem. Just like many philosophies of the day, religious pluralism is
a modern philosophy enduring religion and tradition. There are two prominent modern
philosopher who have been implicitly influential in shaping the discourse of religious
pluralism and they were Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) and William James (1842-1910).
Immanuel Kant philosophy of religion has shaped modern rational inquiry into religion in
particular in the area of theology. He applied systematic reasoning to the understanding of
God which ultimately became the prime source for human knowledge. Kant philosophical
inquiries seek to examine the meaning, validity and the truth about religion and God
without the assistance of revelation. Kant philosophy of religion gradually takes a charge
starting from the eighteenth century and began to be independent from theology after which
religion has been studied as human phenomenon and no longer as revelation. William
James, an American philosopher, takes philosophy of religion into another level of inquiry.
He called for the study of religion to focus on religious experience instead of merely
focussing on religious belief, doctrines and teachings. He was much more interested in
understanding how religious practices impacted one’s belief for in his definition, religion
is the experience of human individual relationship with the divine. This has been
interpreted as the outcome of his pragmatic philosophy, a philosophy that has great
influence on American pragmatism and its historical, cultural and political roots in
America. Religious pluralism being one of the concerns in the philosophy of religion took
off from the Kantian rational framework and James experiential and pragmatic framework.
Both frameworks are self-explanatory framework of the modern philosophy of religion that
dismissed the viability of inquiry into religion as revelation. Hence religion is studied as
371 MATTHIAS KOENIG, ‘The Public Management of Religious Diversity’, n.d., 42.
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the product of rational quest of and human experience of god and these are evident in the
context of Hick’s and Eck’s philosophy of religious pluralism. This has brought us to our
argument that epistemologically, religious pluralism is derived from the modern epistemic
foundation which is the embracement of the dichotomy between modern and tradition,
science and religion, and reason and revelation.
The next issue pertains to the theological predicament of exclusivism, inclusivism and
pluralism as the way out. Hick stated that these are the three possible positions in the
theology of religions. Even Eck could not resist these categories although she has no
interest in such a theological complication. The fact is, making these predicaments shared
by all religions is biased to the experience and the doctrinal structure of Christianity. In
particular, making salvation as the religious ultimate concern is incompatible to many
religions other than Christianity. On the other hand, in the case of Eck, she denied to be
bothered by the salvation issue, but she overlooked the fact that she is dealing with the
statistics 70.6% of the American Christian and they are divided by the many churches that
hold different degrees of ideas of salvation. The fact is that the doctrine of salvation is
pertinent in Christianity but it may have no relevance at all in religions other than
Christianity. In view of this, would it be fair and objective to propagate religious pluralism
as way of solution in religions other than Christianity? The other question arises, if we
assume that such a theological predicament exist in other religions but devoid of salvation
issue, would it be sound to take religious pluralism at the face of its literal meaning, which
is plurality, without having to consider the epistemological foundation of the philosophy?
If the answer is yes, we should anticipate a dual version or even a plural versions of
religious pluralism. Then we will have multiple discourses on religious pluralism that may
contradict each other meanings and we will go back to the drawing board to resolve the
conflicting truth-claim.
Refining the Defining
It is important to recognize that plurality is different from pluralism. Plurality is generic
and it is a description of a plural phenomenon.372 On the other hand, pluralism is the
philosophy that explains plurality of existence but is in conflict with each other.373 In the
case of religious pluralism, whether it is possible to recognize the plural truth claim
bothered the religionist and the non-religionist scholars alike. The religionist scholars
defended that religious truth pertains to human cognitive in opposition of the non-
religionist scholars who attested that the plural truth claim demonstrated the failure of
human cognition to make sense of religion.374 The exponents of religious pluralism are
religionist scholars who regards that not only the truth is comprehensible but also carries
372 Thomas Dean, ed., Religious Pluralism And Truth: Essays On Cross-Cultural Philosophy Of Religion (New York: State University of New York Press, 1995), 34. 373 David Archard, ed., Philosophy and Pluralism, Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement 40 (Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 1. 374 Jorge N Ferrer, ‘The Plurality of Religions and the Spirit of Pluralism: A Participatory Vision of the Future of Religion’, n.d., 139.
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the value of right in every religion. Therefore it is not difficult to understand the reason
why the staunch exponent of religious pluralism like Hick takes each religion a viable path
to the truth.375
It is also important to note that religious pluralism has also been associated with
interreligious engagement and interreligious dialogue. Eck’s Pluralism Project is
responsible for the propagation of this new meaning of religious pluralism. Eck’s version
of religious pluralism has received wider acceptance despite the fact that her project was
meant to address the needs of the American pluralistic society. After more than twenty
years of running the project, she proudly declare in her recent work that America which
used to be a Christian country has now became a pluralistic country which indirectly
implies two important message; that a new America that will no longer be bothered with
the theological predicament of salvation and the accomplishment of the notion of the civil
religion as the religion of the public American.
Notwithstanding the fact that the philosophizing of religious pluralism can be retrieve
earlier than Hick and even after Eck, it is crucial to acknowledge the form of religious
pluralism developed by both due to their intellectual dedication in making the philosophy
as sound as possible for global and universal consumption. It is therefore argued that new
interpretation of the philosophy should be deliberated in due consideration of both
formulations. On top of that, it is essential to take into account the context from which
religious pluralism emerged without which we are unable to appreciate the ideals and
realities that led to the conceptualization of it.
Conclusion
It has been a stimulating yet challenging task to conduct a review on the evolution of
meaning of religious pluralism. Emerged at the brink of twentieth century, religious
pluralism is a modern philosophy responding to religion. It suffers from the complexities
of ideas of modern philosophers and theologians and reconciling them with religious
doctrines and the view of conventional theologians from across the different religions. Not
to forget that the discourse has been enriched with social, cultural and policy study in view
of a particular contextual setting. Having presented the several meaning of religious
pluralism it is concluded that there are central and genuine concerns of religious pluralism
and that for the sake of objectivity and fair treatment, they cannot be simply omitted. Those
concerns include the epistemological, the theological and the contextual conditions that are
instrumental to the generation and the conceptualization of religious pluralism. Given the
intricate background levelling religious pluralism to religious plurality is a failure in
grasping its intellectual importance.
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