Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen
You might have noticed that the world we live in has changed dramatically—not only during the last few centuries but even during your lifetime. And I am not talking only about the transformation of society by unbelievable developments in technology, communication, transportation, and other such fields. I am also talking about the religious environment and even church life of the third millennium:
Today Christians in almost all parts of the world live in religiously plural societies. Persistent plurality and its impact on their daily lives are forcing them to seek new and adequate ways of understanding and relating to peoples of other religious traditions. … All religious communities are being reshaped by new encounters and relationships. … All religious traditions, therefore, are challenged to contribute to the emergence of a global community that would live in mutual respect and peace.1
Bygone is the era in which we Christians, or, say Muslims, for that matter, could live in their own safe ghettos without any awareness of, or contact with, people of other faiths—or, as it happens nowadays to a growing degree, with no faith commitment at all! Religious pluralism has come to our backyard, so to speak. Or even to our front yard.
Increasing religious plurality poses challenges—and opportunities!
Just think of the statistics. At the time of this writing, about a third of the world’s population is Christian (2.4 billion) and about a quarter is Muslim (1.6 billion). The one billion Hindus make up about 15 percent of the global population, followed by Buddhists at half that number. Jews number fewer than 15 million, and among the remainder, over 400 million belong to various kinds of “folk religions.” Only about 15 percent (1 billion) label themselves religiously unaffiliated, often called “nones.”
This means that our world is currently more religious than ever. Even if forms of secularism are also flourishing, their numbers are modest. The “Prophets of Secularism” in the 1960s appear to have been totally wrong about the role of religion in modern societies: Rather than being pushed into the margins as society became more developed—discarded as ancient relics without any meaning in a modern context—religion is back, and with vengeance!
This fact—the growth and proliferation of religions worldwide, including in our own communities—has significant implications for churches and ministries. Simply put, it is no longer sufficient to assume that ministers and church leaders only need knowledge of the Christian tradition to serve God’s people. Likewise, theological and ministerial studies for future pastors cannot be confined to the Bible and Christian theology alone. As a lifelong educator of ministry candidates, both at home and abroad, and as a practicing ordained minister, I can personally affirm this observation through my own experience.
It is no longer sufficient to assume that ministers and church leaders only need knowledge of the Christian tradition to serve God’s people.
Christian vocation and calling, as a result, is facing an amazing new challenge—and opportunity. We are called to be shaped into persons and communities which, on the one hand, continue a deep and unwavering commitment to the truth of the Christian gospel (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Tim 2:5) and, on the other hand, dare to venture into learning about other faiths and encountering their adherents in the spirit of authentic Christian friendship and love (1 Cor 9:22; Acts 17:22–23).
This challenge is particularly acute to all of us evangelicals, who are not drawn to forms of religious pluralism(s) which water down or even leave behind firm commitment to the uniqueness of Christ. We have to learn to live and minister in the religiously plural societies without becoming religious pluralists. Whereas “plurality” simply denotes the existence of many things (in this case, religions) side by side, “pluralism” is an “-ism”: a take on this fact, an ideological response according to which, therefore, no religion can claim the final truth. In other words, whereas plurality is a statement of fact, pluralism is a specific way to deal with the facts—namely, to give up one’s own faith commitment in the spirit of alleged tolerance.
There is a better way to deal with the multiplicity of religious commitments (as well as secular ideologies) that surround us. That can be called “hospitable Christ-centered ministry.” This is marked, on one hand, but continuing to proclaim salvation only in Christ, while on the other hand, building bridges and establishing true friendship with people of other commitments. These two do not have to be antagonistic to each other. For this to happen in our communities means that pastors and ministers, as well as other leaders and influencers, should make interfaith literacy and hospitality one of the many goals in their vocations.
Becoming students of other faiths—while maintaining our own
Let’s begin with interfaith literacy, a major liability for almost all ministers and church leaders. How many pastors know anything much about, say, Islam or Judaism, the closest religious traditions to us, let alone about the great Asiatic faiths? How many leaders have ever read the Qur’an or Bhagavad Gita? How many have attended a religious service of another religious tradition in a mosque or a temple?
While interfaith competence takes more than just learning from the books or lectures, there is no denying the value of a patient study of the basics of another religion. Think about the many benefits of such an attempt:
First, Christians can and should learn something about non-Christian religious traditions for the sake of the religious other; in fact, both the license and the imperative to do so rest on a biblical foundation. Second, Christians can and should expect to learn something about God in the course of that exploration, and the basis for such a belief can be found in who God has revealed Godself to be and how Christians have traditionally understood that divine self-revelation. Third, Christians can and should expect that their understanding of their own faith tradition will be stretched and challenged, but at the same time deepened and strengthened through such interreligious dialogue.2
To begin with, why not have a Sunday school class in the local church surveying the basics of Islam or Judaism or Hinduism or Buddhism or you name it? Or to plan a field trip to a local synagogue or a mosque and have a local leader there explain that religion’s distinctive beliefs and practices? Or to invite a local imam or a rabbi to visit the class in the church for a presentation and a Q&A?
When it comes to theological seminaries and colleges, my own turf, the shape and content of ministerial training of the candidates and vocational enrichment for those already on the field is under constant transformation. Alongside Christian Scriptures and beliefs, our big challenge is to provide at least a rudimentary orientation to other faiths.
Alongside knowledge about other faiths, attitudinal shaping is necessary for a vocation and calling in the religiously pluralistic world.
Already about twenty years ago, I helped co-establish at my own institution a course (which now for many years has become a mandatory course taught by a number of fellow instructors) titled “World Religions in Christian Perspective.” The course includes:
- Basic skills in interfaith encounters and settings
- Introductions to the basics of Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism for Christian students, most of whom know virtually nothing specific about other faiths coming in
- A careful response from a Christian perspective to each faith
- Student visits (in groups) to Islamic mosques as well as Hindu and Buddhist temples in the area, including having a reception by the community leader therein
- Reading brief excerpts from the Scriptures of these faiths
As excited as the students may be about this class, there is also some trepidation. Most students have never opened the Qur’an or visited any sacred place of another faith—some students have never even visited the church of another Christian denomination! They might be scared of some harmful spiritual “contamination.” Those fears are openly exposed and scrutinized in an environment of care and support rather than brushed under the rug. As a result, often the student’s feedback after the class tells the instructor how deeply transforming it was to encounter the religious “other.” This is the beauty of venturing into an unknown.
Alongside knowledge about other faiths, attitudinal shaping is necessary for a vocation and calling in a religiously pluralistic world. Recall that in the aftermath of 9/11, an alarming growth and proliferation of anti-Islamic stereotypes emerged—including from the Christian communities whose calling is for peace and reconciliation.
From confrontation to convivium
The Latin word convivium literally means “gathering” or “coming together to live,” and by extension, it also came to mean “banquet” or “feast.” Let us use this term as a placeholder for an alternative approach—one that fosters dialogue rather than confrontation with individuals or communities of different faiths. In this, we can take a lesson from the Bible.
In the fifth chapter of the book of Joshua, there is a brief narrative easy to overlook. Joshua himself was confronted by a man with a drawn sword in his hand. In response to his question, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” the Israelite leader received a surprising response: “No; but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come” (5:13, 14 RSV). Thereafter, Joshua was urged to take off his shoes in preparation for the experience of the holiness of God in the midst of a desert.
The lesson to our divided, conflicted world is simple and profound: faith in God is not about God taking our side against others. The God of the Bible is not fighting on one side of humans against another. Although, as has happened across history, armies claim God has taken their side in their war against others, often those of another religion.
Pastors, other ministers, and community leaders have a tremendous responsibility in helping expose and correct religious stereotypes, and to provide resources for the people of God to offer faithful witness in a hospitable spirit and attitude. Spreading God’s love into the divided and fractured communities around us is the lofty calling of all Christ’s followers. A faithful, authentic witness at the same time is not in any way a hindrance or an obstacle. Caring and loving may go hand in hand with giving a personal testimony and issuing a call for considering Christ as the Savior and Lord (see 1 Pet 3:15).
A call for friendship and witness
It is the fallacy of our secular Western culture to claim that a deep commitment to one’s faith and interfaith hospitality are mutually exclusive. But it is not an either/or. On the contrary, a meaningful encounter with a religious other requires both a Christian and, say, a Muslim to hold their commitments deeply. It does not mean giving up one’s truth claims, but rather entails patient and painstaking investigation of real differences and similarities. The purpose of getting to know and respect a Jew or a Hindu in my community is not necessarily to soften the differences among religions but rather to learn about the other and have an opportunity to share about my own faith.
This kind of hospitable Christ-centered ministry may best cultivate peaceful co-existence and religious freedom. It would allow both Christians and adherents of other faiths to practice freely their own religions and at the same time to share their own testimony (see Rom 1:16).
Unfortunately, the contemporary secular mindset often mistakenly confuses tolerance for lack of commitment to any belief or opinion. That is to misunderstand the meaning of the term tolerance. Deriving from the Latin term meaning “to bear a burden,” tolerance is needed when real differences are allowed. Tolerance means patiently and painstakingly sharing, listening, and comparing notes. It means the willingness to respectfully and lovingly make space for continuing differences. A religiously pluralistic environment and society calls for tolerance that makes room for differences and facilitates mutual missionary enterprises as long as those arise from the self-understanding of each religion.
And this is a huge challenge and opportunity for all Christians, particularly to leaders. Listen to the wise words of the leading American comparative theologian, the Jesuit Francis X. Clooney:
If we are attentive to the diversity around us, near us, we must deny ourselves the easy confidences that keep the other at a distance. But, as believers, we must also be able to defend the relevance of the faith of our community, deepening our commitments even alongside other faiths that are flourishing nearby. We need to learn from other religious possibilities, without slipping into relativist generalizations. The tension between open-mindedness and faith, diversity and traditional commitment, is a defining feature of our era, and neither secular society nor religious authorities can make simple choices before us.3
Resources for further study
Christian Theology in the Pluralistic World: A Global Introduction
Regular price: $67.99
A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World (5 vols.)
Regular price: $129.99
Kärkkäinen’s Global Introductions to Systematic Theology 2nd ed. (3 vols.)
Regular price: $64.99
Theological Renewal for the Third Millennium: A Kärkkäinen Compendium
Regular price: $21.45
The Dialogic Evangelical Theology of Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen: Exploring the Work of God in a Diverse Church and a Pluralistic World
Regular price: $45.00
An Introduction to Ecclesiology: Historical, Global, and Interreligious Perspectives, rev. ed.
Regular price: $24.99
An Introduction to the Theology of Religions: Biblical, Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
Regular price: $27.99
Global Dictionary of Theology: A Resource for the Worldwide Church
Regular price: $33.99
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- “Religious Plurality and Christian Self-Understanding,” nos. 2, 3, World Council of Churches Ninth Assembly, Porto Alegre, Brazil, February 14–23, 2006. https://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/assembly/2006-porto-alegre/3-preparatory-and-background-documents/religious-plurality-and-christian-self-understanding.
- Kristin Johnston Largen, Baby Krishna, Infant Christ: A Comparative Theology of Salvation (Orbis, 2011), 9.
- Francis Xavier Clooney, Comparative Theology: Deep Learning Across Religious Borders (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010), 7.
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