FOLLOW ONE, RESPECT ALL
Today, we all live in pluralistic societies. To maintain peace and harmony in such societies, good thinking and discernment among people are required, including regarding matters related to religious plurality. A society comprising aware or awakened individuals is one where inter-community harmony can flourish. By promoting awareness among individual members of society regarding religious plurality and the importance of respecting all religions and their adherents, the problem of inter-community conflict can be solved, and inter-community harmony can be established.
Some basic issues that relate to the vital question of properly educating people about the issue of inter-community relations need to be clarified. One of these is the issue of religious differences. A comparative study of the various religions shows clear theological differences between them. For instance, the belief system of some religious communities is based on monism, while that of some others is based on monotheism. Some religions preach the discovery of truth by oneself, while others believe that truth is revealed to human beings by God through Messengers appointed by Him. And so on.
Some people think these religious differences and distinctions are the root cause of conflicts between religious communities. They believe inter-community harmony can only occur when these differences are somehow destroyed. ‘Bulldoze them all!’ some such people might demand. However, this approach is so impractical that it is not even worth discussing.
Faced with the reality of religious differences, some people seek to prove somehow that all religions are the same, that they are identical to each other. However, seeking to prove that all religions are identical by extracting portions from different scriptures that resonate with each other is like someone culling portions from the Constitutions of different countries and publishing them together in a single book and then claiming that all the Constitutions of the world are the same and that they all have the same rules and clauses and provisions! This imaginary universal Constitution may greatly please the author of such a book, but it will likely not be acceptable to even a single country. The same holds for those who seek to prove that all religions are identical because there are significant differences among the various religions at the level of theology.
I have studied this issue in detail and found that claiming that all religions are the same does not correspond to reality. There are so many differences between the different religions that it is impossible to prove them to be the same practically. For instance, one religion says that God is one. Another religion talks of several gods. One religion believes a personal God brought the universe into existence, while another religion denies the existence of such a Being. And so on. In such circumstances, to claim that the teachings of all religions are the same may appeal to the minds of people who are given wishful thinking, but it is not logical, and nor does it correspond to reality.
Even if, by some means or another, it could be argued that the scriptures of the different religions are, in fact, the same, the problem of differences will remain unresolved. It is because there are multiple and conflicting interpretations of each of these scriptures, and these various interpretations lead to the formation of numerous sects within each
religious community.
The fact is that such difference or diversity is not related to religion alone. The entire world is based on the principle of differences and variety. These differences are so pervasive that no two things or people are without some difference or the other.
When differences are a Law of Nature, how can religion be an exception to this rule? As differences are found in everything else in the world, so are differences between one religion and another. We have not thought it necessary to do away with differences in other matters but, instead, have agreed to disagree. We should adopt this same practical formula in matters of religion as well. Here, too, we should stress unity despite differences. The fact is that there is only one way to deal with the issue of religious plurality positively, and that is: “Follow one and respect all human beings.”
