Christian Approaches to Religious Pluralism: Diverging Models and Patterns

Abstract

After giving a brief overview of different patterns in the Christian attitudes toward other religions, the author focuses upon three main responses to religious plurality: exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism. Some tentative lines for a trinitarian-oriented theology of religions are developed. This approach opens up the possibility of a pluriform and contextual response without compromising the Christian faith. Such a theology has different points of entry: there is the Christ-centered approach and a pneumatological perspective on religious pluralism. Both are related in a theocentric framework. Though distinct, these three perspectives on religious plurality should not be detached from each other.