Tolerance, Diversity, Pluralism -- What's the Difference?

Having heard that Pentecost Sunday (Mary 27th) had been declared Pluralism Sunday I decided to check things out. Always on the lookout for a good topic for my Faith in the Public Square column I started thinking about pluralism in America. Pluralism is a word with a lot of nuances, and depending on how you use the word actions as well as words are affected. Pluralism Sunday is an effort sponsored by The Center for Progressive Christianity, along with a couple of other groups. Having looked over the program I thought, why not join in, even if my definition might at points be a bit different, I'm all for pluralism!
But what is pluralism? I thought I'd starting thinking toward my column and my church's observance of Pentecost by thinking about three words that on the surface seem interchangeable.
  • Tolerance: John Locke (not the guy on Lost) wrote in his A Letter Concerning Toleration that "I esteem toleration to be the chief characteristical mark of the true church." Now for Locke, Toleration meant granting certain rights to non-Anglicans. But whatever he meant, it would seem that a degree of tolerance of others is necessary for true religion. Mere tolerance, as we know, really means suffering your presence grudgingly.

  • Diversity: The opposite of Diversity is Homogeneity -- Sameness. It's not such a popular theory anymore, but once church growth guru's preached the homogeneous principle, which insisted that birds of a feather flock together, so build niche churches. Now we still segregate -- though today it would seem we segregate generationally more than racially -- but we don't glorify it as much. In an article in The Review of Faith & International Affairs (Spring 07) Eboo Patel (a Muslim) writes, following Diana Eck, that diversity "is simply the fact of people from different backgrounds living in close quarters." Now my son attends a high school that is extremely diverse, but that doesn't mean that there are no racial/ethnic/language divides.

  • Pluralism: Pluralism is rooted in the reality of diversity, but it goes beyond mere diversity. Patel writes that pluralism "is when people from different backgrounds seek mutual understanding and positive cooperation with one another." Pluralism requires a more active engagement with others who are different from you. The other night I showed the film on Muhammad to help my congregation step beyond their own experience to embrace their neighbor. And, as Patel points out, the danger of not taking this path toward pluralism is that a "chasm of ignorance" will develop "between different religious communities," which "can too easily be filled with bigotry, often turning into violence."

Indeed!!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Having looked over the program I thought, why not join in...

I hate to sound shrill, but Pentecost is one of the most solemn holidays in the church calendar. Is it really appropriate to tack an outside theme onto it? Especially one that draws attention away from the church itself, on the commemoration of its birth?

Not to say that pluralism is never an appropriate topic — I'm committed to it, too. But this sounds a little like declaring Christmas as Historical Jesus Day or something...
Robert Cornwall said…
Chris,

Good point. I'm not yet sure how I'm going to tie this together. Pentecost celebrates the birth of the church, but it also has a theme of unity from diversity. The Christian faith at its best celebrates unity in diversity -- thus pluralism. As I said, I've signed on but I've not thought through how this will work!
Mystical Seeker said…
I guess the speaking in tongues expresses the idea of unity through diversity. On the other hand, it always seemed to me that Pentecost was often seen as the basis for another kind of unpluralistic perspective, namely the idea that only Christians have access to continuing divine revelation or that only Christians can have a relationship with God (through the Holy Spirit).
Robert Cornwall said…
I guess all depends on how you spin, I mean, interpret it. Christianity can take on a number of faces, both inclusive and exclusive. In one sense it is an expansion of Judaism to include non-Jews in the message of God's redemptive love. It can also have the sense, if you're not part of us then you're outside the bounds of God's love. I prefer the former.

The message of tongues is to me a sign of inclusion -- all persons are welcome.

Oh, well, we must wrestle with the traditions!

Popular Posts