Sharma which religion

I think the reason for this is that both the State and religion make ultimate claims on us. That is to say, the State wants us to sacrifice our life for the State, and the same is true of religion.

The loyalty that they demand from us is extreme, and comparable. I have not been able to work this point further. It is an insight that I am still trying to figure out. Your book has shown that the seed for tolerance and intolerance exists in all religions.

Which seed gets activated seems to be determined by historical, political, cultural circumstances. Here I would like to say that I agree, that religion, or the study of religion, can only be carried out in a context in which the political, the social, the economic, all these are significant.

But I am not sure that religion can be reduced to these. So you get two kinds of reductionism. You can call one methodological reductionism, and the second one as ontological reductionism.

I would be very hesitant to accept the claims of ontological reductionism, but it is obvious to me that methods that consider political, social and economic contexts have explanatory power when it comes to some dimensions of religious behaviour. Ontological reductionism would say that religion can be reduced to politics, or economics, or society. This is an extreme form of it that I do not agree with. So you are saying that apart from controlling political, social and cultural factors, it is important also to look at religious factors and ideas.

That therefore a book like this, or scriptural defences of religious tolerance, are also vital to achieve a tolerant society. In this book, you have covered ten major religions. What do these concepts mean, and why did you choose them to explore the idea of religious tolerance?

The use of these terms has to do with religious salvation. If the position is that only one religion can ensure that salvation, and no other religion in any way can do so, then this is the exclusivist position. So to say that Christianity and Christianity alone, or Hinduism and Hinduism alone, can secure your salvation, this would be an exclusionist position.

The inclusivist position would be that the religion in which you already are may prepare you in some way for coming to the religion which alone can give you salvation. So, in other words, Judaism may prepare you for turning to Christianity.

Ultimately it has to be that religion, but the religion is inclusive in the sense that it allows for the other religion preparing someone for salvation. The third position, the plural position, is that every religion is equally potent in securing your salvation.

From what I can tell, these three dimensions are not exactly mapped to tolerance or intolerance. For example, I can imagine a time when a pluralist religion is intolerant towards a group that rejects its pluralism. I think this point is best explained by an example from politics. Democracy allows freedom to all sorts of views about the State. Even the Communist Party can fight an election in a democracy. Now, the question is, what happens if the communist party forms the government, and in keeping with its teachings, abolishes democracy?

Therefore, a democracy can allow a communist party to function up to that point, after which it threatens the system itself. Explore Plus. Social Science Books. Politics Books. View Plans. Enter pincode. This course will cover the intended material in four stages or parts. The first part will consist of tracing the beginning and growth of the academic study of religion in the West, and as well as a history of the attempts to introduce it in India.

We will discover that academic study of religion is characterized by three features: it is multi-traditional, it is poly-methodic, and it is multilingual. The second stage will consist of a survey of the origin, basic teachings, and history of at least the following seven religious traditions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism.

Religious Studies: This course is an introduction to classic and contemporary approaches to the academic study of religions. Offered by: Religious Studies All texts are read in English translation; no prior knowledge is assumed. Terms Winter Instructors Arvind Sharma.

Religious Studies: A study of the life and thought of Gandhi. Offered by: Religious Studies Prerequisites: 6 credits in Indian religions Terms This course is not scheduled for the academic year Instructors There are no professors associated with this course for the academic year. Selected publications:.