Interfaith Leadership and Typologies of Religious Plurality (by Taras Dzyubanskyy)

Taras Dzyubanskyy in his article “Interfaith Leadership and Typologies of Religious Plurality” discusses one of the main challenges for religions today is to explain theologically the diversity of religions and the complexities that arise when members of different religious traditions and faiths encounter one another. It is a challenge for any representative of any religion to maintain his/her identity and, at the same time, be open to dialogue with other religious traditions. The task of religious leaders has become an interfaith task in and of itself as the diversity of religions poses a serious question to the truthfulness and authenticity of every religion. As a response to this religious diversity, four views are important: exclusivism, inclusivism, pluralism, and the recently proposed notion of particularism. The article tackles these typologies together with the concept of interfaith leadership and the various forms it can take within each of these frameworks. It also provides some examples of programs that train religious leaders to become interfaith leaders.