In class Pluralism or 1st Definition– The idea that all religions are basically the same
Different Definition or 2nd definition- Religious Pluralism may describe the world view that one’s religion is not the sole and exclusive source of truth, and thus recognizes that some level of truth and value exists in at least some other religions.
My question is if children were raised by the idea of definition 2 of religious pluralism, would that make a more productive society. (such as more compromise, less war, and more open mindedness). Since children would be raised by many different religions from birth and when their an adult they could be allowed to choose what truths they see in each religion.
An example is lets say theres two guys Bob and George. Bob is a guy who has only 1 friend for 20 years, and George has had 15 different friends for the past 20 years. If you ask them to describe what a friend is Bob would only have one definition of a friend and would probably be closed minded on what a friend should because he’s only experienced that one type of friend. Bob I would say would probably only be open to accept friends just like his only friend and be limited on new friend experiences. On the other hand George would have many definitions of a friend, be open to new types of friends, and probably not as close minded as what a friend should be due to his multiple definitions. I believe George would be open to new friend experiences and and different type of friends. In my opinion making him a better authority on what a friend can be because of his open mindedness and experiences.
I relate this to 2nd definition of religious pluralism. If children were raised by a bunch of religions and when they were finally adults got to choose what they thought the truth was. They would be less partial to one definition of the truth and be more open to other truths. Relating to the example of Bob (the example of religion now) and George (example of 2nd definition of religious pluralism). Bob would be more close minded on new truths, while George would have a more open minded approach to new truths. Making George a more productive seeker of the truth in my opinion.
Since I believe that children are highly influenced by nurture, their environment, and essentially, their parents’ teachings, yes – I do believe that raising children to be pluralistic (2nd def.) would create a society of more respective, kinder, open minded individuals, that we have now.
I know many individuals who have been raised to think “this is our way of thinking, and we are right, everyone else is wrong,” and they are for the most part, very closed minded.
However, I do NOT think that raising children to think pluralisticly , would PREVENT arguments over religion. I also know individuals who have been raised to be open-minded to religions, and have of their own choice and study, decided that one (or some) religions are better than others. The hope is that if these individuals have children, that they allow their children to make this decision themselves, and still influence them to be open-minded people.
I think bringing up children on this type of belief would create a lot of confusion for a while and eventually lead to a generation of less dogmatic people. The thing is only a certain amount of us would be willing to say you can find some truth in other religious and there will still be large amount of people with extreme faith in their religion and belief that everyone else is completely wrong. I think teaching all religions have something good to it would lead to a lot less religious wars/fights and other problems and eventually lead to a lot less religions
George would be more open-minded and sympathetic and would be able to think without so much theistic influence on how he reasoned and acted and would be a better authority on what truth is and what religions can teach us. Unfortunately we’ll never get rid of the Bobs who claim to have all the authority and clearly haven’t even looked into any other possibilities.