RELIGIOUS EXCLUSIVISM: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

HISTORICAL religions cover a broad spectrum of beliefs about the world and about God that are represented in symbols, myths, and practices. In this spectrum, each religion presents a unique world picture, incompatible with the others. Every religion, at least in its traditional garb, is exclusive—it claims to be the only true religion, presenting the most accurate picture of God and of reality. My main thesis is that religious exclusivism is a hard position to defend philosophically and that a pluralistic thesis that advocates the inner value of different religions is logically preferable. With respect to Judaism, however, pluralism entails a conceptual revolution within the tradition.

The motivation for religious exclusivism is clear. First, through this approach, believers convey their absolute commitment to their religion and their faith. For many, exclusivism conveys acceptance of their religion's sole and absolute authority, interpreted to mean that all other religions have no share in the truth. Exclusivism, then, reflects the believers’ religious pathos.

Second, exclusivism appears as ‘coherent and rational’, and believers who fail to endorse it appear to express doubts about the validity of their faith. This claim relies on two assumptions: (1)my faith is valid and (2)my faith is incompatible with all others. Hence other faiths are invalid. The second assumption is the crucial one for this argument, for without it the conclusion would be redundant, and believers could sustain the validity of their own faith without necessarily negating the validity of others. The incompatibility of various religions relates to two constitutive aspects: their factual and metaphysical beliefs about the world and about God and their system of practical obligations. This crucial assumption, then, compels the conclusion that not all religions can be true, implying the dismissal of interreligious pluralism as a valid possibility. Third, every religion offers a way to salvation attainable only through God's true revelation. Salvation as the purpose of religion, then, compels religious exclusivism. These justifications of religious exclusivism suggest that it conveys the beliefs of the faithful more successfully, in addition to possessing a sound theoretical foundation.