All Religions Are

Are all religions equally valid?

I was in a bookstore a few years ago, browsing in the religious section, when I got into a discussion with another customer. Somehow we began to talk about comparative religions and he told me (rather authoritatively), "All religions are equally true."

I said, "Oh. Well then, how do you explain the obvious points of conflict that exist between Islam and Buddhism, between Confucianism and Judaism, and between Christianity and Taoism?"

This young man responded by saying that he didn’t know anything about Islam or Judaism or the rest, but he did know that they were all the same and equally valid.

Where does this kind of thinking come from?

Back in the 19th Century, many theologians got involved in the study of comparative religions. Scholars closely examined the distinctive characteristics of the major religions of the world.

The buzzword of the day was "essence." Books were published with titles like "The Essence of Religion" and "The Essence of Christianity."

These and other books attempted to get at the basic core of "religious truth" found in all religions. As a result, religion was often reduced to it lowest common denominator.

Many theologians at that time came to the conclusion that the root of all religions was the same. Thus, if all religions were essentially the same, then none of them could ever make exclusive claims to validity.

Out of this quest for the essence of religion comes the now-famous and popular "mountain analogy," which pictures God at the peak of the mountain with people down at the base. The story of religion is the ascent of human efforts to move from the base of the mountain to the peak of fellowship and relationship with God. Thus all roads, though differing in route, ultimately arrive at the same place.

Back to the young man in the bookstore: It was obvious to me that he had bought the "mountain analogy," so I asked him some further questions.

"How can Buddhism be true when it denies the existence of a personal God, and at the same time Christianity be true when it affirms the existence of a personal God? Can there be a personal God and a nonpersonal God at the same time and in the same relationship?"

He mumbled something about being late for an appointment and was on his way.

Friends, there are only two possible ways to maintain the equal validity of all religions: ignorance––simply choosing to ignore the clear contradictions between religions by a flight into irrationality, or reductionism—stripping each religion of elements considered vital by the followers of that religion, reducing all religions to their lowest common denominator.

The distinctions of each are obscured and watered down to accommodate religious harmony in a pluralistic society.

In America we have what we call the critical "principle of religious toleration."

All religious systems are guaranteed freedom of expression and equal treatment under the law.

The founding fathers said, "There will be no established religion." Thus, we have no state church that enjoys exclusive privileges under the law.

But here comes the problem: Along with the idea of equal toleration of all religions has come the idea that no religion has exclusive claims to truth.

Many thinkers extend that to mean that equal toleration means equal validity and because so many people believe that, when Christians make claims of exclusivity, those claims are often met with shock, disbelief, even anger at such a "narrow-minded posture."

Those who believe that Christ is the only way to God are seen as exclusivists, fundamentalists or religious extremists to be avoided because they don’t understand pluralism.

In response to the charge of being narrow-minded, a common response of Christians can be to assume a laissez-faire or "whatever will be, will be" attitude.

The gravest modern example of a Christian laissez-faire attitude is the failure of the German churches to speak out against the Nazis’ destruction of the Jews. Under directions of Hitler in November 1938, 119 Jewish synagogues were set on fire, 20,000 Jews arrested, shops were looted and prominent Jewish leaders were publicly humiliated. Yet the majority of Protestant churches and the entire Catholic Church, including the Pope, kept silent.

Richard Gutteridge in his book, "Open the Mouth of the Dumb," wrote: "The ultimate failure of the church . . . what was missing . . . widespread public, visible expression of ‘righteous indignation’ . . . which might have brought about the downfall of so monstrous and unprincipled a tyranny."

I visited the Jewish Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. It was there that I saw the incredible cowardice of the laissez-faire attitude that led to the slaughter of millions of innocent men, women and children. And even now I wonder how many thousands, even millions of believers have become so laissez-faire "that they open not their mouth"?

The Rev. Jon Wilson, D.Min,. lives in Calabasas and is senior pastor of Canoga Park Presbyterian Church in Canoga Park at22103 Vanowen.

Hear him speak on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. or contact him at Jonwclergy@aol.com. The church can be reached at(818) 883-3510.