Menu
ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom®
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Articles
ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom®

VIDEO: Increasing American Religious Comity (Pew Forum by way of Spectrum Magazine)

Posted on June 25, 2008 by Michael Peabody

Thanks to Alexander Carpenter for finding this great video.   Click here to watch and review the analysis: http://spectrummagazine.org/blog/2008/06/25/pew_video_increasing_american_religious_comity

Although a majority of Americans say religion is very important to them, nearly three-quarters of them say they believe that many faiths besides their own can lead to salvation, according to a survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

—

Most Americans also have a non-dogmatic approach when it comes to interpreting the tenets of their own religion. For instance, more than two-thirds of adults affiliated with a religious tradition agree that there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their faith, a pattern that occurs in nearly all traditions. The exceptions are Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, 54% and 77% of whom, respectively, say there is only one true way to interpret the teachings of their religion.

Some Thoughts

This is an interesting statistic.  The question I have is whether or not this kind of thinking leads to a neutralization of religious belief.  Is it an effort to minimize differences in order to get along, and if so, does it lead to abandonment of one’s own distinct beliefs?

This could well be the difference between the pursuit of religious pluralism in the fruit salad metaphor where each faith is distinct and has its own flavor versus a smoothie where it all blends together and the net effect is that each part means less.  This includes the common elements of faith as well as the individual differentiated core elements of religious worship and thought, or those distinct practices that may require accommodation, whether this involves keeping a holy day or wearing religious clothing.

Part of celebrating religious freedom is the recognition that faiths can peacefully coexist even though they have mutually exclusive beliefs.  In other words, you do not have to agree with somebody else’s view of heaven or what it takes to get there in order to honor their religious commitment and their faith.  People should not feel pressured to agree that their beliefs are also correct if they do not share them, nor should they force their faith on others.

It takes a lot of work to maintain a welcoming environment in both law and practice for religious pluralism and diversity, but it is far better than the alternatives of neutralizing faith or favoring some beliefs over others.

  • coexist
  • holy day
  • Opinion
  • pluralism
  • Religion
  • religious clothing
  • religious diversity
  • religious dress
  • religious garb
  • Video
  • 2 thoughts on “VIDEO: Increasing American Religious Comity (Pew Forum by way of Spectrum Magazine)”

    1. Alexander Carpenter says:
      June 25, 2008 at 6:47 pm

      I appreciate your comments here.

      All the better that more and more folks realize that determining who gets saved is a matter left up to God. We can certainly make as many value-guided rules, but linking belief and salvation might just be more harm than good.

    2. Alexander Carpenter says:
      June 25, 2008 at 11:47 am

      I appreciate your comments here.

      All the better that more and more folks realize that determining who gets saved is a matter left up to God. We can certainly make as many value-guided rules, but linking belief and salvation might just be more harm than good.

    Comments are closed.

    Tweets by RelLibertyTV

    Recent Posts

    • Learn About US Government and Liberty of Conscience in the Nation's Capitol: New Course for Adventist High School Students Gives College Credit

      Learn About US Government and Liberty of Conscience in the Nation's Capitol: New Course for Adventist High School Students Gives College Credit

      March 28, 2023
    • Founders’ First Freedom files Amicus Brief in US Supreme Court in Support of Workplace Religious Freedom

      Founders’ First Freedom files Amicus Brief in US Supreme Court in Support of Workplace Religious Freedom

      March 26, 2023
    • U.S. District Court Dismisses Hunter v. US Dept of Education Lawsuit

      U.S. District Court Dismisses Hunter v. US Dept of Education Lawsuit

      February 5, 2023
    • Colorado Court: Baker Must Provide "Non-Expressive" Cake to Transgender Customer

      Colorado Court: Baker Must Provide "Non-Expressive" Cake to Transgender Customer

      January 30, 2023
    • Supreme Court to Hear Christian Postal Employee Religious Discrimination Claim - Groff v. DeJoy

      Supreme Court to Hear Christian Postal Employee Religious Discrimination Claim - Groff v. DeJoy

      January 13, 2023

    We are not a law firm, do not provide any legal services, legal advice or “lawyer referral services” and do not provide or participate in any legal representation.

    ©2023 ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom® | WordPress Theme by Superb Themes
    Manage Cookie Consent
    To provide the best experience, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent may adversely affect certain features and functions.
    Functional Always active
    The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
    Preferences
    The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
    Statistics
    The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
    Marketing
    The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
    Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
    View preferences
    {title} {title} {title}