America is full and rich with diverse people, religions and values; they make America great. Just look at Riverside, California, there are over fifty churches of different denominations of Christianity, three synagogues, two temples, and one mosque; all coinciding peacefully in the city (Yellow Pages). Because Riverside is so diverse, religious pluralism and religious tolerance are two steps in making Riverside more connected. The first step is tolerance, a reflex that acknowledges a person will come across people of a different faith. The second step is pluralism, which is a better understanding of a person’s religion as well as the other religions around them. Many believe pluralism is the better of the two, because of the interaction involved and the creation of harmony, but pluralism’s faults are greater than the benefits. Currently religious pluralism is quality America should strive for, but America is not ready for pluralism yet, so religious tolerance is best for the diverse population of America today.
Religious tolerance and religious pluralism have many different definitions, depending on the person’s interpretation of the word and where the person gets the definition. Every person of every faith and the people without a faith can have a different definition for tolerance and for pluralism. Diana L. Eck, the director of The Pluralism Project at Harvard University, gives a clear definition for pluralism. Pluralism is a two way street of dialogue, knowledge, understanding, and active participation (Eck 2 “From Diversity”). Pluralism is not meant to be an assimilation of religions or that a person of any faith has to believe all religious paths are true. Religious Tolerance is the continuous congruent relations betw...
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...e & cooperation ” ReligiousTolerance.org 7 Oct. 2007: Onatrio Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Web. 22 Oct. 2011.
Eck, Diana L. “What is Pluralism?” The Pluralism Project at Harvard University. Harvard University, 2011. Web. 10 Oct. 2011.
Eck, Diana L. “From Diversity to Pluralism” The Pluralism Project at Harvard University. Harvard University, 2011. Web. 10 Oct. 2011.
Kilman, Carrie. “One Nation, Many Gods.” Teaching Tolerance Fall 2007: n. p. Teaching Tolerance. Web. 10 Oct. 2011.
Places of Worship in Riverside, CA. Yellow Pages. AT&T Intellectual Property. 2011. Web. 20.
Oct. 2011. .
Prothero, Stephen. Introduction. Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know--and
Doesn’t. New York: HarperOne, 2007. Print.
Shrader, Douglas W. “Beyond Tolerance: Globalization, Freedom, and Religious Pluralism.” 2006. PDF file.
...Multiculturalism: Essential Primary Sources. Ed. K. Lee Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 353-355. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Apr. 2014
...e see that there are several factors which contribute to America’s pluralistic society. The influence, openness, and competition of interest groups put power in the hands of a diverse selection of people. The democratic elections and multi-party system allow people to choose from a number of candidates who they want to represent them as the elite. Lastly, America’s three branches and the bounds of the constitution help ensure that there is balance of power. Pluralism is a system which has worked for the country. Since its birth, the public has always been able to influence politics. Never has there been a threat of domestic tyranny. As long as the elite adhere to the constitution and work as activators for the people’s views rather than their own, America will be a free, democratic nation—a place where everyone coexists to share power, responsibility, and rewards.
For more than a century, the concept of secularism and its boundaries has been widely disputed by secularists and non-secularists alike. English dictionaries define secularism as simply the separation of church and state, or, the separation of religion and politics. Michael Walzer, a true secularist, believes that this separation is an essential democratic value and ultimately fosters toleration of a plurality of religions (Walzer, p. 620). Wæver, an opponent of secularism, defines secularism as “a doctrine for how society ought to be designed”– that religion and politics ought to be divided in order to ensure religious liberty, as well as religious-free politics. However, he does not deem that such a principle exists (Wæver, p. 210). Based on these different viewpoints, I have established a unique concept of secularism: the principle that religion and politics be kept apart, that the state remains neutral in regard to religion, and that liberty, equality, and fraternity be upheld in an attempt to successfully promote religious toleration and pluralism.
Kottak, Conrad Phillip and Kayhryn Kozaitis 2012 On Being Different, Diversity and Multiculturalism in the North American Mainstream, 4th edition, McGraw Hill Press, New York: Chapter 1.
First, I will discuss the influences of different definitions of diversity in cultural unification. The major problem concerning this issue is that many people differ in the real meaning of the concept and how they view their personal involvement. Brook argues that “we do not really care about diversity all that much in America, even though we talk about it a great deal” (306). However, they are the general, erroneous interpretations of diversity that are really creating this wrong image of indifference. According to Kira Hudson Banks in her research entitled “A Qualitative Investigation of Students’ Perceptions of Diversity,” many people defined diversity as race and do not include other types of diversity (153).
The purpose of cultural pluralism is to discuss and understand points in American history when other cultures and ethnicities were discriminated against and racially attacked. Unfortunately things like this still happen in the world today. A current event of this in the US and even in Bowling Green is the hateful tweets toward the black student union. However bad the severity of the offense it is still important to analyze the event and how it relates to cultural pluralism as a class.
In being so diverse, the lives and beliefs of many different cultures here in America are accepted. One major example, is religion. Jews and Arabs, who are enemies in there Jammal 2 countries, live in the United States in harmony. Another example are the Muslims and Hindu’s, who hate and kill each other in their countries, and yet can live in America side by side in peace because of Thomas J...
"Center Update: Case Studies on Religion and Conflict." The Berkley Center. Georgetown University, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2012.
To make a simple review of the subject matter, pluralism is the belief that one has many paths by which to reach God. Conversely,
Robinson B.A. 1 Mar 2000 (last update), Islam, Hp. Online. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Available:
Pluralism comes from the political system that focuses on shared power among interest groups and competing factions.# A pluralistic society contains groups that have varying interests and backgrounds, including those of ethnic, religious, and political nature.# Differences like these are to be encouraged, with overall political and economic power being maintained. When a number of people, all sharing a common interest are threatened, a group is involuntarily formed in order to defend against competing interests.
Porter, Rosalie Pedalino, Ed. D. “The Social Contract”. Divisive and Damaging Effects of Official Multicultural, Diversity, Multilingual Policies on American Public Life. Vol.22, www.thesocialcontract.com. Number 4, 2012. Web/Print.
Hickean religious pluralism (HRP) aims to give a theoretical account of religious diversity; it does this by drawing on key similarities between the world religions and claiming
In this week’s readings the subject of dimensions of cultural diversity were covered comprehensively in both books. Understanding and Managing Diversity presented a nicely laid out illustration:
Anderson, M, L, Taylor, H, F. (2008). Sociology. Understanding a Diversity Society. Thomson Higher Education. Belmont. (USA). Fourth Edition.