April 23, 2001
Pluralism
How does pluralism address religions that advocate actions that appear morally abhorrent to “pluralist” onlookers? Primitive cultural religions that practice human sacrifices, or take militant opposition to an outside group, are arguably following their developed path to enlightenment/salvation. Pluralism believes in some Ultimate Reality, but if that reality is so abstract to not determine some set of general morals that can be used to govern society, then civilization as we know it today could not possibly exist.
Pluralism may be a useful way to objectively study the cultural and human element of world religions, but if applied to real-world practice would result in pacifist universalism at best, and societal chaos in extreme circumstances.
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