Pluralism is a condition in which the existence of something diverse. In the context of Christian religious pluralism, this can also be interpreted as the existence of a religion or Christianity that accepts and acknowledges the existence of religious diversity. Once again, in the context of our article this time, Christian religious pluralism is how from the point of view of Christianity which accepts this pluralism. Basically, Christianity itself accepts pluralism in religion and even in its teachings it is also taught to have tolerance between one another.
In Christianity itself, there are indeed several approaches to accept this pluralism. Some of the approaches are in the form of exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism. To understand these three things, you must first know some points of view on the acceptance of pluralism itself. And in the following, I will share some points of view on pluralism in the Christian faith that can help you understand further and be open-minded about pluralism.
1. Social
The first point of view is the social point of view. Social itself means society. The world community as you know has a variety of backgrounds that differ from one another. This background influences their language, culture, and even beliefs. Christianity has an acceptance of pluralism through a social point of view, this means that Christians accept pluralism and try to tolerate differences in society. In addition, the social point of view also teaches us that diversity or difference is legitimate and that difference has the right to exist around us.
The existence of this point of view is supported by the many roles of the Church in different societies where society and the Church help each other to fill the gaps of one another. Humans are also referred to as social creatures where they cannot live alone and need other people to help complete their shortcomings. From this simple thing we can know that each of us is different from one another. This is a good thing and it will be even better if we accept it. It is conceivable that if everyone is the same, has the same abilities, it may be difficult or even impossible to find someone who can complement and help us when we need it.
2. Ethics and morals
There are several characteristics of Christian ethics that you need to know and ponder before, before you study and read more about everything related to ethics and morals. The second point of view of Christian religious pluralism is in the form of a point of view through ethics and morals. Ethics itself is basically the understanding and application of the concept of distinguishing between good and bad things. If ethics is a philosophy of what is good and right, then morality is a concrete form or our actions in practice to prefer the good over the wrong.
By studying our own ethics we can basically know which things we should do and which things we should avoid. In Christian ethics, we have also been told that all religions that have been recognized in the world, for example, have the same goal. All religions that exist teach love to God and fellow human beings. From a moral point of view, we are more invited not to judge our brothers and sisters who have different views or in this context are different religions. We are invited not to judge their beliefs, especially on some sensitive issues such as marriage, abortion, euthanasia, and so on.
3. Simple
If you've studied some of the goals of Church reform, you'll probably know what this simple means. And, let me remind you again. In ancient times, the Church seemed to close itself off from worldly conditions outside the Church. The Church considers that no salvation comes outside the Church. However, through the events of the Reformation of the Church this began to change. If in the past the Church did not recognize the existence of salvation from outside, now the Church also believes that there is salvation from outside the Church or can also be called other religions.
The existence of the reformation certainly brought some very good reform effects on the Church and one of them was how the Church finally became more concerned and people could accept the Church better. From this simple point of view itself you can also understand it as the many paths that can be taken to achieve salvation. Maybe a concrete example can be likened to this. There are some people who prefer to eat rice using a spoon or hands, both ways are correct and their main goal is the same which is to eat rice.
So, those are some points of view of Christian religious pluralism that I know and can share with you. Hopefully this article can help you and your readers as social beings to not only be more open and tolerant towards our fellow brothers and sisters who are different, but also to understand some points of view that support pluralism in our environment. Thank you for the loyalty of readers to keep following our articles and reading the articles that we present, hopefully the information is useful and God bless you.