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THE QUESTION
All religions the same?
The Dalai Lama, who just celebrated his 75th birthday, often refers to the 'oneness' of all religions, the idea that all religions preach the same message of love, tolerance and compassion. Historians Karen Asmstrong and Huston Smith agree that major faiths are more alike than not.
But in his new book "God is not One," religion scholar and On Faith panelist Steve Prothero says views by the Dalai Lama, Armstrong and Smith that all religions "are different paths to the same God" is untrue, disrespectful and dangerous.
Who's right? Why?
Posted by
David Waters on July 6, 2010 11:23 AM
FROM THE PANEL
Depends..... on the lens you are wearing
Both are right. And both are wrong. It just depends on the lens you are wearing. And, it depends on how you define God, religion and religious identity which is often influenced by the history, the philosophy and the practice of its people.
Posted by Anju Bhargava, on July 16, 2010 1:56 AM
Mormon lifestyles and religious differences
In my religion, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we take seriously the promise made in Romans that we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ -- meaning that our eternal potential is actually to become like our Heavenly Father. In other words, as concerning the ultimate destiny of man, there are great differences amongst religions.
Posted by Clayton Christensen, on July 15, 2010 12:54 PM
Religions definitely NOT the same
As long as religious narrow-mindedness and arrogance continue, so will the hatred and violence these views inspire, and the supposedly religious who promote them will remain a part of the problem and not a part of the solution.
Posted by Ramdas Lamb, on July 10, 2010 11:45 AM
Are religions different or same? Yes.
The various religions are NOT the same (Prothero is right), but this conversation - about how religions, and ultimately human beings, relate to one another - is an important conversation with (as Armstrong would argue) universal consequences.
Posted by Leo Brunnick, on July 9, 2010 12:53 PM
All religions call us to radical love
There is a unity without uniformity in religion. It is important to honor the differences. At the same time, all religions, at their best, take us to a place beyond ourselves and beyond their own doctrines, disciplines, rituals, laws, philosophies and experiences.
Posted by Valerie Elverton Dixon, on July 9, 2010 11:29 AM
Christian path not the only one
I walk the Christ path faithfully because I know that it leads me beyond all human limits, even the limits of Christianity, into the experience of the divine. That has also been the experience of those who walk the Jewish path, the Islamic path, the Hindu path and the Buddhist path.
Posted by John Shelby Spong, on July 9, 2010 10:39 AM
Unique theology, common good
Maybe the need is not to try and devolve all religions into one motive or goal as much as it is to celebrate the good that religious people actually accomplish with their lives.
Posted by Phil Davis, on July 9, 2010 8:37 AM
Theology differs, message the same
The successive outpourings of divine guidance, and the records of humanity's response, are seen not as separate religions but as pulsations in the single, unfolding religion of God.
Posted by Kenneth E. Bowers, on July 8, 2010 4:19 PM
God did not make denominations; people did
God did not make denominations, nor did Jesus or Allah nor Moses or Abraham. People did.
Posted by Susan K. Smith, on July 8, 2010 2:37 PM
Pressing beyond "niceness"
Most great religions are mostly right, but "mostly" is not good enough. Christianity proves to be the best explanation for the world as it is: both the metaphysical and the physical. Or so it seems to me.
Posted by John Mark Reynolds, on July 8, 2010 2:03 PM
Exclusivists vs. Pluralists: very different paths to one Truth
Pluralism for these faiths means not that all religions are essentially the same; pluralism simply replaces an exclusivist claim that mine is the only path with an acceptance that while my path is the best for me, others may find the same spiritual fulfillment using a different road map.
Posted by Aseem Shukla, on July 8, 2010 11:48 AM
God is not One, and neither are the religions
Perhaps I am missing something, but I have yet to find a view of religious unity that does not reek of colonialism and empire.
Posted by Stephen Prothero, on July 8, 2010 10:29 AM
As we take religion more seriously, differences become more obvious
Differences among religions are not only about social behavior, but also about what it means to be closer to God. In this, there are many different paths. Some paths may be completely contradictory, or have very little in common with one another.
Posted by Adin Steinsaltz, on July 7, 2010 11:03 PM
All religions are clearly not the same thing
I will go further and say not only that all religions are not the same thing, but that there is no single version of any living world religion.
Posted by David Gushee, on July 7, 2010 3:28 PM
Jesus is the difference
It's true. All "religions" are the same. They are attempts by Man to earn the favor of God through human effort. But unique among faiths is the relationship that Jesus of Nazareth came to re-establish between sinful Man and a Holy God.
Posted by Cal Thomas, on July 7, 2010 10:41 AM
Only God is universal
So all religions are not the same; they represent the many different ways that the many different people yearn for God. Only God is universal.
Posted by Jack Moline, on July 7, 2010 10:38 AM
All religions not same to you
A certain kind of "all religions are one" theory is obviously untrue; it is disrespectful since it doesn't allow for true variety in religions and doesn't respect others' religious choices; and it is dangerous, because it quickly leads back to the long established dangers of religious fanaticism and the lethal intolerance or crusaders.
Posted by Robert Thurman, on July 7, 2010 10:12 AM
If all religions are same, someone should tell the religious
If religions were all essentially alike, religion could never have been the source of conflict it has been throughout human history. The very different things expected of humans by God in different religions is far more important than any general belief in providence.
Posted by Susan Jacoby, on July 7, 2010 9:39 AM
Different responses to common problems
It is an error in the first place to speak of religions as paths to God or to whatever is considered Ultimate Reality. Religions are not paths, but are responses, to whatever is considered responsible for the universe in which we find ourselves. They are humanly devised forms built around what already has been found, or perhaps what already has found us.
Posted by Gene Davenport, on July 7, 2010 7:48 AM
Religions are irreconcilable, people are not
Each human being has both an appreciative and a critical capacity, and should use both in evaluating all religions: the failure to use one is as wrong as the failure to use the other.
Posted by Willis E. Elliott, on July 6, 2010 11:11 PM
Religions are siblings but not twins
All religions have to deal with life and death, hope and desire, fear and the need for acceptance. And each has come up with a system to offer meaning to humanity in a world that ultimately kills us. The elements of that system are very different in many respects. Codes of ethics are often very different. But as brothers and sisters, offspring of the same "parent," we can find common cause.
Posted by Max Carter, on July 6, 2010 10:49 PM
Surely different; absolutely the same
Religions are not the same. One claims a man can become God; another claims the distance between human and God is unbridgeable. One claims that God is not personal; another insists that God is personal. Differences can be multiplied. They are real; they are significant; they are not ultimate, however.
Posted by David Wolpe, on July 6, 2010 2:40 PM
Faith in the light of science
I think most religious believers are guilty of wishful thinking, a belief in an afterlife of eternal bliss for which there's no credible evidence. I think the Dalai Lama is also guilty of wishful thinking when he assumes that religions that preach love, tolerance, and compassion will also practice what they preach. We have all too much evidence to the contrary.
Posted by Herb Silverman, on July 6, 2010 2:03 PM
Let there be peace in our individual identities
Those who emphasize the similarity of all religions are interested in peace. They're worried that when differences are emphasized, feelings of religious superiority or supremacy will rise, resulting in inter-religious conflict, violence, war, and death. Things well worth being against! Those who emphasize the distinctiveness of all religions are interested in identity.
Posted by Brian D. McLaren, on July 6, 2010 1:23 PM
Not even all Christians follow same path
While we can and should work toward tolerance and understanding, we should not trivialize or overlook theological differences that can be very important. We may be more alike than not, but there are competing world views. Many people have fought and died over religious differences. That is not a good thing, but it is a reality.
Posted by Ronald Rychlak, on July 6, 2010 12:52 PM
All religions equally wrong, but not in same ways
As a secular humanist, I hold that all religions are human creations. Though I view them therefore as all equally wrong, they are anything but equal in the abundant diversity of concepts each has developed.
Posted by Tom Flynn, on July 6, 2010 12:35 PM
Save & Share:
r_t_norris: To say all religions are the same is illogical. Only those who deny truth could accept such an argument.
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PeterFrankWomack: Peace, Friends.
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edbyronadams:
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