This involves allowing for the individuality of each...

This involves allowing for the individuality of each religion and not turning the specific features of the dominant religion into the standard practice. In fact, such pluralism would be “strong pluralism,” according to Beckford’s term. In Beckford’s opinion, fact and value should be kept separate from each other for the sake of clarity. He therefore believes that the term “religious diversity” should be used to describe empirical reality.

On the other hand, religious pluralism is a very specific way of considering this diversity, being “an ideological or evaluative response to empirical diversity” based on mutual respect between different religious systems with the aim of peaceful coexistence for the various religions. Much of the philosophical discussion on religious pluralism continues to center on the works of John Hick. Hick has focused his attention on the differences between the various world religions.

His basic pluralistic contention is not that different religions make no conflicting truth claims.[^10] In fact, he believes that the differences of beliefs between (and within) the traditions are legions and has often discussed these conflicts in great detail.

His basic pluralistic claim, rather, is that such differences are best seen as, different ways of conceiving and experiencing the one ultimate divine reality.” However, if the various religions are really “responses to a single ultimate transcendent reality,” how then does one account for the significant differences among these basic theistic systems?

Hick’s explanation is that this limitless divine reality has been thought and expressed by different human mentalities forming and formed by different intellectual frameworks and devotional techniques.[^11] Some scholars note that religious pluralism is more likely to generate conflict in societies where the dominant religion retains sovereignty as the operative religion of the social system.

Religious pluralism is less likely to generate conflict in societies in which the value of religious freedom is upheld by the operative religion of the social system, whether or not the dominant religion retains sovereignty as the operative religion.[^12] For years, sociologists of religion used to point out that pluralism undermined participation in religion and agreed that the relationship was negative.