Pluralism

Pluralism as the Existence of More than One of a Given Kind within a Delimited Space

The word pluralism here connotes plurality or diversity, and it is mainly used as a mode of description. Religious pluralism understood in this sense can be identified at different levels:

• 1.
  Religious pluralism understood as the coexistence of more than one religious tradition within a given society: In this sense, most societies have a certain degree of pluralism, even though such an assessment might run contrary to official representations and state policies on religion (e.g., in societies where strict mono-religiosity is promoted). Such diversity might be the result of historical processes of state formations and the drawing of boundaries, it might be the result of waves of conversion or of revivalist movements, or it might be the result of migration. Often, this will also imply a certain degree of pluralism regarding the coexistence of differing types of religious organization within a given society. Furthermore, if one wants to assess the level of pluralism from the perspective of a given state—that is, the number of publicly recognized religions—the focus will often be on organizations as many states do not recognize abstract traditions but only specific types of organizational structures and polities.
• 2.
  Religious pluralism understood as the coexistence of different institutional or inter-pretational forms within a given religious tradition: This perspective addresses the pluralism that exists within broader categories such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and the like. Christianity, for example, encompasses diverse and sometimes conflicting traditions and/or structures, such as Protestantism, Pentecostal Christianity, Catholicism, and the Coptic Church, and each of these might encompass a range of different institutions, practices, and beliefs.
• 3.
  Religious pluralism as the commitment to and/or combination of beliefs and practices from different religions at an individual level: The existence of such diversity may be seen as part of a process where overarching dominant religious authorities collapse, leaving room for individuals to build their own religion without restrictions from certain institutions and traditions.

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