The challenge of pluralism and unity-in-diversity

Pluralism is one of the great blessings but also curses of our age. It is a fact everyone has to deal with but also an idea that meets stiff resistance. From politics and education to culture and immigration, we are constantly reminded of the pressing reality of pluralism. As the world becomes more diverse and pluralistic, handling pluralism is a key concern for religious leaders, policy makers, educators and others.

Pluralism presents a particular challenge to traditional religions that have developed a coherent worldview in fairly monolithic and uniform environments. All religions lay claim to universal truth, but some are more troubled than others by the fact of religious diversity. This has something to do with the historical experience of traditional religions but also with their theological assumptions. Yet, despite their emphasis on divine unity that extends to the human plane, monotheistic religions know how to handle diversity.

 

The secularists, however, have accused monotheistic religions of creating theological monarchies and totalitarian belief systems, which eventually turn into anti-pluralist politics. They claim that by advocating one universal truth and one single set of beliefs, religious monotheism constructs a total and totalitarian belief system and deprives humans of their freedom. As an article of faith, unity becomes a prison, an encirclement of human agency. These conclusions are based on flawed assumptions.

 

It is true that religions uphold a unified vision of reality because God is one and the reality He created must have unity and integrity. This is the cornerstone of Abrahamic monotheism: since God is one, reality must be ordered around this oneness.

 

But those who think so confuse unity with uniformity and misread monotheism as a form of reductionism. Unity designates the underlying interconnectedness of things and their vital relationality. By contrast, uniformity denotes a state of bland sameness and oppressive homogeneity. It is based on monotonous repetition, which eventually seeks to ensure control, and thus rejects emancipation. Unity refers to the kind of bond that exists among human beings while recognizing and respecting their immense differences. Uniformity is more like an industrial enterprise where we produce a monopolizing environment. Living beings have “identity” whereas machines have only a “serial number.”

 

I therefore reject the pluralist-secularist alliance against monotheism and instead offer to look at the extent of uniformity that modernity has brought about in our lives. A key component of economic and political modernity has been to maximize control in the name of efficiency and productivity. But this is a self-poisoning recipe because more control does not make our lives any more humane. To the contrary, the systemic forces that limit and shape our freedom and agency in the post-industrial world of today impose a fairly monolithic and uniform patter of behavior vis-à-vis social and political developments.

 

Uniformity turns us into consumers with serial numbers, and this is exactly what transnational capitalism wants us to do. But unity brings out our common humanity. Religious belief in one single God underlies and strengthens this unity rather disrupts it. It also points to a symbiotic relationship between unity and diversity. In the Islamic tradition, this relationship has been described as “unity-in-diversity” (al-wahdah fi'l-kathrah) and elaborated, among others, by such sages as Ghazali, Ibn Al-‘Arabi and Mulla Sadra. As a presiding idea, it has found application in such diverse fields as law, science, theology, art, architecture and politics.

 

The kind of destructive totalitarianism has characterized most of the 20th century in Europe and elsewhere. The two world wars were not fought for God nor was the Holocaust a result of religious monotheism. Modern totalitarian ideologies such as fascism have justified their truth claims and political programs around horrid notions of uniformity that have collided with the most fundamental aspects of human community.

 

Today Europe, the US and the newly shaping Arab world are all dealing with the multiple challenges of pluralism. As we approach the June 12 elections with the typical heat and tensions of electoral politics, Turkey is no different. But the challenge of pluralism is not simply about politics. It is also about how we perceive the world, nature, other human beings, and those who are different from us. Uniformity has clouded our minds and limited our horizon. It is time that we discover the new potentials of unity-in-diversity.