Religious exclusivism

Religious Exclusivism and Basinger's Stand


According to Williams (2013), religious exclusivism is the conviction that an individual's religious belief is the sole proper and correct position, and that all others are false and incorrect. That is, the belief that just one major theistic system has the truth, whereas others are incorrect, misguided, or far from it. This way of thinking appears to be shared among religious radicals and fundamentalists.


Basinger, a philosopher, argues for a middle ground position on religious exclusivism, arguing that religious exclusivism is a reasonable and trustworthy position to take only if the quest for truth is recognized as the fundamental epistemic duty. In his argument, Basinger formulates this epistemic duty with a notion that if a religious exclusivist desire to maximize the truth, avoid or minimize errors, he/she must be under a prima facie obligation to try and resolve any substantial epistemic peer conflict (Williams, 2013). In supporting his stand, Basinger argues that religious exclusivism becomes more practical when individuals consider intra-theistic systems. In his explanation, as stated by Williams (2013), Basinger gives an example of a disagreement between the Christians on the nature of God's omnipotence and the nature of the human being freedom that poses a substantial difference with significant implications for the doctrines and the individuals involved. Nevertheless, he claims that such diversity needs assessment and an attempt at resolution.


Contrary Views on Religious Exclusivism


Personally, I do not agree with Basinger's stand on religious exclusivism. Reason being, we are all from diverse cultures, with different beliefs, which means we have differences in religion. However, these differences should not make any group of people view their faith as the best, the one that holds the truth, creating a perception that other people's beliefs are false and wrong. We all serve one supreme being, our cultural differences are minor, as we all have the same hope and faith of having an eternal life. Therefore, there should not be even a single attempt or assessment to solve any thriving religious differences.


According to Alvin Plantinga, religious exclusivists may dismiss any religious differences provided that they cannot be demonstrated or proved that their beliefs are untrue. Plantinga maintains that, as long as the religious difference cannot be justified, the proponents of conflicting views should not be considered on an equal epistemic footing (Williams, 2013). Therefore, Plantinga could have supported the general idea of Basinger on religious exclusivists, but he could not have agreed with his concept of religious indifference. In his argument, he states that believing in what your religion teaches you has nothing to do with the beliefs of other people. Instead, one decides to take a stand of understanding of what is right. Therefore, Plantinga cannot buy the idea of attempting to resolve any religious differences from the exclusivist, which was the main stand for Basinger.


On the other hand, John Hick supports the theory of religious pluralism, where he reasons out that God is infinite, and our beliefs should also be infinite (Eddy, 2015). He recognizes the fact that God is powerful, and no boundaries of any kind can explain the idea of God. Hick acknowledges the differences in religions, which arise due to cultural differences. However, he argues that we are all one, and one day, these religions will grow closer together and have a certain degree of harmony with each other. Therefore, to Basinger's argument, Hick could oppose his stand by outlining the fact that we are all one and the differences between ourselves on religion do not make one of the religions better than the other. Apparently, Hick could have disagreed with the whole idea of Basinger, from the theory of religious exclusivism with the fact of acknowledging the significance of the religious differences, which Basinger claims need to be resolved.

References


Eddy, P. R. (2015). John Hick's Pluralist Philosophy of World Religions. Wipf and Stock Publishers.


Williams, L. A. (2013). The Compatibility of Religious Exclusivism and Religious Pluralism.

Deadline is approaching?

Wait no more. Let us write you an essay from scratch

Receive Paper In 3 Hours
Calculate the Price
275 words
First order 15%
Total Price:
$38.07 $38.07
Calculating ellipsis
Hire an expert
This discount is valid only for orders of new customer and with the total more than 25$
This sample could have been used by your fellow student... Get your own unique essay on any topic and submit it by the deadline.

Find Out the Cost of Your Paper

Get Price