John Hick's Perspective on Religious Plurality
John Hick, a global religion philosopher, is well-known for his contributions to faith understanding. Hick's thought differs greatly from traditional Christian ideas since he advocates for religious plurality. His fundamental point is that, in various ways, people from different religious origins, both Christian and non-Christian, share comparable values and principles. In other words, Hick demonstrates his awareness of the presence of moral attitudes and deeds in both Christians and non-Christians. For this reason, Hick goes on to argue that it is insensitive for a loving God to send non-Christians to the dreaded eternal hell yet these people support, embrace and promote the same values and principles that Christians do. As such, Hick explains that there is a way in which everyone who is devoted to a theistic religion, whether Christian or not, may eventually experience salvation (Hick 28).
Hick's arguments vs. The Dalai Lama's
On the other hand, the Dalai Lama in his perspectives on Buddhism, Christianity and the Prospects for World religion illustrates that it is not possible to integrate Christianity and Buddhism. This is contrary to Hick's belief that all theistic religions can receive salvation through an inevitable process. Secondly, the Dalai Lama emphasizes that integration will result in a significant loss of identity and unique features of the various religions. However, John Hick differs by illustrating that the primary uniting element is the ability to accept and practice similar moral and values. Furthermore, Hick's arguments are based on the belief of God's existence as a creator and Supreme Being which is why he thinks salvation is possible regardless of the religion one professes. The Dalai Lama differs on this through the fundamental Buddhist belief that the universe lacks an initial cause hence there is no elemental untainted being (Lama 538).
Agreement on the Role of Religion
Despite the differential arguments, both Hick and Dalai Lama seem to be in consensus concerning matters of the role of religion in bringing happiness, encouraging moral behavior, gentleness, honesty, building peace and also establishing justice all over the world. The Dalai Lama also seems to support Hick's integration proposal by mentioning that some types of integration are possible for instance, a Christian may practice meditation. These two philosophers also seem to agree on the purpose of religion to be salvation. However, while the Dalai Lama expresses that each possesses their own path for achieving transformation, John Hick advocates for the pluralism belief that unity is possible provided that the driving factor of exclusive truth claims are mutual. In general, the two philosophers share the perspective that while religions are varied, they all move an individual towards active spiritual growth.
The Dalai Lama's Rejection of Pluralism
In my opinion, the Dalai Lama would not agree with John Hick's philosophy of pluralism which is a rejection of exclusivism. This is because the Dalai Lama categorically insists that other religious believers cannot reach a state of liberation without experiencing the Buddhist religion. Additionally, Dalai also does not believe in the conversion of other faiths to Buddhism, and for this reason, he goes on to advise that everyone should follow their own belief honestly and sincerely. He argues that conversion will most likely cause doubt in their faith which may not be the best outcome. These illustrations explicitly indicate that the Dalai Lama supports exclusivism when it comes to matters of religion where each believer can attain happiness and satisfaction of they do what they believe in sincerely. Additionally, the process of integration or conversion is one that may bring more harm than good in other religion (Lama 542). All these elements are divergent from Hick's philosophy which hopes for an integration of morals and values so that salvation is possible for all religions.
Works Cited
Hick, John. "A Pluralist View ." Okholm, Dennis L. and Timothy R. Phillips. More Than One Way? Four Views on Salvation in a Pluralistic World. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995. 27–59. Print.
Lama, Dalai. "Buddhism, Christianity and the Prospect for World Religion." Cabezon, Jose Ignacio. Snow Lion Publications, 1988. 537-542.
