Misgivings about the Religious Pluralisms of Seyyed Hossein Nasr and John Hick

BOOK ID

Authors(s): Dr. Muhammad Legenhausen

Category: Comparative Religion

Journal: Vol.14, N.4

Publisher(s): Ahlul Bayt World Assembly

Topic Tags: Human Elements Christianity Religious Diversity Islam

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Language

English

Synopsis of the argument for religious pluralism, with a counter argument, including a discussion on the Divine and Human elements of religion, Christianity, religious diversity, and denying the cultural relativity of religion.

Misgivings about the Religious Pluralisms of Seyyed Hossein Nasr and John Hick

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Muhammad Legenhausen

0n 25 October 1994, the Turkish scholar Adnan Aslan interviewed Profs. Nasr and Hick at the home of John Hick in Birmingham. The topic of discussion was religious pluralism, about which Dr. Aslan was writing his doctoral dissertation. Later Dr. Aslan published a book in which he compares the ideas of Profs. Nasr and Hick on religious pluralism. Unfortunately, I have not yet had the opportunity to see this work, but the interview, which was published in the Islamic Quarterly,(1) is quite thought provoking.

Here follows a brief summary of the discussion, and then comments and criticisms. By commenting on it, I hope to clarify my own views about religious pluralism and to gain some understanding about the resources available to Muslims for explaining the plurality of religions.

Synopsis of the Discussion

Perhaps the strangest thing about the discussion is the point with which John Hick begins. He notes that both he and Dr. Nasr agree on the truth of different religions, but observes the main difference between them is that Hick sees this as requiring reform, while Nasr wants to leave the traditions alone.

What then unfolds is the odd spectacle

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1- Adrian Aslan, The Islamic Quarterly, Vol. 40, No. 4, (1996), 266-283.. The translation of this interview into Persian by Ahmadrida Jalai appeared in Marifat, No. 23, (Winter 1376/1998) 70-79.