Pluralism

Through intensified flows of people, material objects, and ideas between different parts of the world, globalization has prompted the dispersion of cultural forms and created new senses of community and loyalty. In some areas, this has led to increased diversity, while in others, it has spurred processes of homogenization. Regardless, the resultant confrontations with the new, strange, or different have made pluralism—and the proper ways to respond to it—a pertinent issue. The entry provides a conceptual outline of the term pluralism, and it addresses the logical premises as well as the normative implications inherent in the concept. It further addresses the relationship between globalization and pluralism and gives examples of how intensified communication and migration as key features of globalization contribute to religious pluralism and ...