Quotes about Pluralism

Religion is important for humanity, but it should evolve with humanity.  The first priority is to establish and develop the principle of pluralism in all religious traditions.  If we, the religious leaders, cultivate a sincere pluralistic attitude, then everything will be more simple.  It is good that most religious leaders are at least beginning to recognize other traditions, even though they may not approve of them.  The next step is to accept that the idea of propagating religion is outdated.  It no longer suits the times.

True pluralism on the other hand, is always universal pluralism, (or integral-aperspectival): you start with the commonalities and deep structures that unite human beings--we all suffer, and triumph, laugh and cry, feel pleasure and pain, wonder and remorse; we all have the capacity to form images, symbols, concepts, rules; we all have 208 bones, two kidneys, and one heart; we are all open to a Divine Ground, by whatever name.  And then you add all the wonderful differences, surface structures, culturally constructed variants, and so on, that make various groups--and various individuals--all different, special, and unique.  But if you start with the differences and the pluralism, and never make it to the universal, then you have only the aprespectival madness, ethnocentric revivals, regressive catastrophes.