The Routledge Companion to Religious Diversity

This edited volume examines religious diversity as a defining characteristic of contemporary global society, addressing both theoretical frameworks and practical challenges arising from religious pluralism. Meister assembles contributions from leading scholars across multiple disciplines to analyze how different religious traditions understand and respond to the reality of competing truth claims about ultimate reality, salvation, and the divine.

The companion explores several interconnected themes central to the God debate. First, it examines conflicting theological positions on religious diversity, from exclusivist claims that only one tradition possesses saving truth to pluralist arguments that multiple paths lead to the same ultimate reality. Contributors analyze how these positions affect arguments for God's existence and nature, particularly regarding divine justice, revelation, and the problem of religious disagreement. The volume considers whether widespread religious diversity undermines confidence in any particular conception of God or instead points toward a transcendent reality approached through different cultural lenses.

Second, the work addresses epistemological questions about religious knowledge in pluralistic contexts. Several chapters examine whether exposure to equally sincere believers from different traditions should lead to skepticism about religious claims generally, including beliefs about God's existence and attributes. Contributors debate whether religious diversity constitutes a defeater for theistic belief or whether rational belief in God remains possible despite awareness of alternative religious worldviews.

The companion also explores practical dimensions of religious diversity, including interfaith dialogue, religious freedom, and social cohesion in pluralistic societies. These discussions illuminate how different conceptions of God and ultimate reality shape concrete approaches to religious coexistence. Philosophical chapters examine John Hick's pluralist hypothesis, Alvin Plantinga's reformed epistemology in relation to religious diversity, and various models of interreligious theology.

Meister's volume makes a significant contribution by bringing together diverse methodological approaches to religious plurality, from analytic philosophy of religion to comparative theology and religious studies. The work demonstrates how questions about religious diversity fundamentally intersect with debates about God's existence, nature, and relationship to humanity. By examining both the challenges religious diversity poses to traditional theisms and the resources different traditions offer for understanding pluralism, this companion provides essential context for contemporary discussions about God in an increasingly interconnected world.