Religious Diversity

The fact of religious diversity in America can be dealt with both philosophically and practically. At the beginning of the semester, we analyzed the three philosphical positions which are pluralism, inclusivism, and exclusivism. Pluralism is an answer to the question: Why are their differing conceptions of the ultimate (Dickman, 8/24/10)? It is the view that no claim is absolutely true, but they are all perspectives on "the" truth (Dickman. 10/12/10). Inclusivists maintain that only one claim is true, but it is effective for everyone. Exclusivists hold that only one claim is true (Sweetman). The practical positions we have more recently been studying seem easier to understand and classify. They are embracers, accepters, and resisters. These positions focus on how we are going to live or coexist with everyone, as the truth remains that many different religious views are present in the United States.

While studying these positions, we found embracers and accepters to be similar. They are both alike in the fact that they agree with relativism's multiple truths stand. Both are critical of mere consumerism (materialistic culture) and think of religion as a personal choice (Dickman, October). Embracers are shaped by consumerism. They are also known as "spiritual shoppers," according to Robert Wuthnow (Wuthnow, 107). Obviously, there is a negative connotation to this title. An alternative to this phrase is "spiritual seeker," coming out of the Judeo-Christian tradition (Dickman, 10/19/10). Some problems with the model of "shopping" are questions such as, "Is shopping for a religion a ‘good' thing?" or "Does this suggest that embracers are merely shopping?" Their perspective on God is impersonal, which allows them to think that all religions are the same. Spirituality is a journey to them and religious texts are not taken literally, but metaphorically or figuratively (Dickman, 10/19/10). According to Wuthnow, these embracers are "spiritual, but not religious." "Their commitments are relatively short term, they are open to new experiences, and they have enjoyed opportunities to move around, travel and dabble with diverse lifestyles" (Wuthnow, 119). In defense to being accused of dabbling, one woman said, "If I was a spiritual dabbler I would have given up on a lot of these things many, many years ago. I'm very serious about it. I'm intensely serious. I decided I wanted to know why I was here, and that's been a lifelong goal. I want to search the truth of why things are happening and why I'm here" (Wuthnow, 123). To embracers, "tradition is more of a symbol than a reality. They may dislike the idea of religious tradition because it connotes old-fashioned thinking and subservience to clergy authority; yet in practice their explorations usually fall within one, loosely bounded tradition (Wuthnow, 123).

Accepters,