Religious pluralism encapsulates the myriad ways in which a “single transcendent reality is experienced and conceived in human life”. When our socio-cultural milieu embodies the core of syncretism, our identities are essentially constructed through the amalgamation of the beliefs/traditions that surround us. In a country like India although religious pluralism should ideally equip us to coexist with such diversity, the issue of exclusivism is often highlighted where the plurality of faith and the rationality of belief is reduced to a single religion, giving one religion a superior status over the other. Therefore, why is the inclusivism of our religious fluidity (propagated through ‘unity in diversity’) often problematised?
The history of religious pluralism (understood through India’s diversity) has profound consequences in the psychology of religion. Strengthening of different religious institution over the years have emphasised the distinctiveness of one religion over the other. In the modern world, technological culture has further reinforced such contrasting features into the human consciousness further amplifying the boundaries of the religious in-group and out-group. The lack of inter-religious dialogue has changed the idea of religious pluralism into a monologue, a monologue that has become the core reality in India. Therefore, despite the multiplicity of religions in India, religious pluralism is understood through acknowledging differences that further reinforce the 'us' and 'them' creating a visible demarcation among different religions.
Coming from Singapore which is a multi-ethnic country, I have observed that the Singapore government takes the initiative to decorate the streets (like Orchard Road) on major religious festivals like Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Puasa, Deepavali and Christmas. The fact that the government participates in public street lighting and decor on these specific religious occasions is not just linked to infrastructure, but it also acts as a way of making citizens aware of the festivities of different religions. These decorations that are put up also adhere to the religious sentiments of the people. The reason why such decorations transcend religious boundaries is because the designing, assembling and putting up of the decoration is done by people of different religions which shows how people come together to make religious decorations and displays.
Having lived in India, I have noticed that despite the multiplicity of religions, religious pluralism is understood through ‘tolerance' and not 'acceptance' of different religions. This is primarily because the idea of religious pluralism is not integrated into the lives of people, but merely seen as a concept, or a national holiday in the calendar. The act of physically designing/creating art works, painting them, putting them up, is not an easy process. When people come together and make the effort to do something that is new/different or not something bounded to their religion, that is when they step of the the echo chamber of their religion to enter the territory of another religion. Even if it is through understanding how to
draw a deepam (lamp), make a lantern or learning the arch dome in muslim drawing, this how we
transcend religious boundaries and in turn learn about people through religion.
Works Cited
Berger, Peter. “The Pluralistic Situation and the Coming Dialogue between the World Religions.” University of Hawaii Press, pp. 31–44.
Rowe, William L. “Religious Pluralism.” Religious Studies, vol. 35, no. 2, 1999, pp. 139–150. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20008217.
Image References
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