Abstract

The volume represents a global response to Hick's philosophy of religious pluralism. Setting out the historical and theological background against which Hick’s religious pluralism emerged, it examines some of the contentious issues that resurface in the pluralism debate, ranging from his concept of divine ineffability to Kant to the noumenal Real to the ethical-soteriological criterion, and the reception of his version of religious pluralism both within and outside the Western hemisphere. It widens the discourse by bringing Hick’s pluralistic hypothesis into a critical and constructive cultural and interreligious engagement with Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Daoist, Hindu, Jain, as well as Japanese, Korean, and African perspectives. The volume demonstrates how Hick’s pluralistic hypothesis is globally widespread, yet locally rooted and interconnected. Whether one welcomes or critiques Hick’s pluralism, one cannot but be deeply touched by his own journey to a pluralistic vision which continues to be relevant in a world torn apart by various kinds of absolutisms.