The One and the Many in Radhakrishnan’s and Hick’s Thinking 1

Abstract

This essay focuses on two eminent thinkers whose perspectives on religious pluralism have attracted much attention: Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975), a prominent Indian philosopher, statesman and cultural ambassador to the West, interpreting Indian philosophy and religion to a Western audience, and John Hick (1922–2012), a world renowned British theologian and philosopher of religion, known for his contentious views on Christian beliefs and philosophy of religious pluralism. The paper draws attention to some significant convergences and divergences in their thinking on religious pluralism, which can be seen in how they conceptualise the relation between the One and the Many in their writings.