Abstract
This essay outlines some suggestions for how the idea of the universal might be retrieved and rethought in the light of the contemporary experience of pluralism. It will do so by drawing upon the work of a diversity of thinkers, post-modern and modern, from philosophers such as G. W. F. Hegel, Luce Irigaray, Jacques Derrida, through to theologians such as Louis-Marie Chauvet, Bernard Lonergan, Raimon Panikkar and especially Edward Schillebeeckx. The latter part of the essay will explore the universality of human rights and discuss some of the possibilities for rethinking Christian universality in relation to sacramentality, inter-religious dialogue, and the priority of the poor.
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