The development of contemporary multi-faith societies

The development of Christianity in Britain

By the 7th century it had become the main religion within the British Isles, this is the status that it enjoyed without very little resistance until recently. Post-war increase in diversity affected by Britain needing to rebuild itself and relying on its colonial past has led to a diverse multicultural society, where harmony is only possible if a more accommodating mindset is established.

Langdon Brown Gilkey:

Argued that the political situation of the West following World War II set up a need for Christian thinkers to reconsider the place of other religions specifically because of the changing political world.

He stated that 'The West no longer ruled the world... Western religion became one of the other world religions.

Migration

• The majority of migration took place in Britain post World War II, as Britain looked to reconstruct itself after the devastation of the war, it looked to countries that were colonized for this manpower to do the rebuilding.
• Waves of migration have resulted in concentrations of Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists,s and Jews all across the UK, generally concentrated in particular areas where there is a place of worship or diaspora community,

• The religious makeup of the UK has been directly impacted by migration where the number of people declaring themselves as Christian reduced to 59.3% in the 2011 census where the percentage of those identifying as other religions such as Islam increased, doubling in size in this time.

Globalization

Globalization: The increasing interconnectedness of global society, for example through a rise in cross-border transactions and de-regularisation of trade restrictions between countries.

• Increasing globalization is associated with the intensification of social relations and consciousness across the world.
• Crane and Matten hold that globalization leads to religious 'deterritorisation'.
• This means that religious knowledge and belief systems are no longer isolated to particular cultures and geographical locations but are often literally next door to each other. For example in Newham, there are 72 places of worship, of multiple religions.
• Since the eighteenth century, western societies have developed values based on human reason and experience as opposed to religion or revealed knowledge.
• Post-enlightenment societies have developed what Steven Pinker calls the 'humanitarian principle' – the idea that people get on better when each person takes into account the interests of others.
• The tolerance of many kinds of religions, based on the humanitarian principle, has led to the development of multi-faith societies because Western societies tend to regard the place of religion as a personal lifestyle choice and hold that it is not for society to distinguish the truth of religions

As a response to multi-faith societies, there has been an increased use of inter-faith dialogue.

Inter-faith dialogue is the cooperative and creative process by which people of different religious faiths meet and exchange ideas in order to understand each other's belief systems better, break down stereotypes, and promote peace and understanding.

They also identify points on which they differ and try to understand each other's position even if they do not agree with it. Importantly, the purpose of inter-faith dialogue is not to convert people, but about coming to a deeper understanding of your own faith system whilst also learning about someone else's.

In his book 'The Future of Christian Theology' David Ford highlights two strands in history that have led to new directions in inter-faith dialogue: The Holocaust and 9/11.

The Holocaust: the role of the Church and Nazi Germany is the subject of historical debate but Christians cannot escape at least some responsibility for presenting Judaism as a 'failed religion' for failing to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. The relationship between Christianity and Judaism after WW2 led to an effort at inter-faith dialogue initiated by Jewish rabbis from around the world through a document entitled 'Dabru Emet' (speak the truth).

In the document, Jews invited Christians to engage in inter-faith dialogue highlighting that they share the same God and seek authority from the same scriptures. The discussion that followed 'Dabru Emet' concluded the need for Christians and Jews to continue to communicate and work together and the requirement that this should become a normal part of Jewish and Christian life

Inter-faith dialogue encourages people to see people with different views as 'others' and avoids 'othering' that has led to widespread hatred in the world before. When people use the term 'other' positively they are recognising that there are multiple interpretations of the world. Post-modern philosopher Jacques Derrida called this open-ended view of the world 'difference'. When the other as difference is applied to those of other faiths then, the purpose of inter-faith dialogue becomes a creative process of mutual understanding.

The key guiding principles are:

• Exchanging ideas
• Understand each other's beliefs even if they do not agree and come to a deeper understanding of your own faith while learning about someone else Not an evangelist tool

Catholic Church: Redemptoris Missio 55–57

• In the Catholic Church, there is a tradition of encyclicals which are letters sent from the Pope to the Church. Pope John Paul II issued an encyclical called 'Redemptoris Missio' (translated to Mission of the Redeemer). The subject of 'Redemptoris Missio' was the place of Christian missionary work in a multi-faith society. Redemptoris Missio 55-57 is a section entitled 'Dialogue with our brothers and sisters of other religions'. In this section, the Pope considers how interfaith dialogue can work alongside the Christian mission. Key elements of these sections are as follows:

55:

• God calls all peoples to himself, salvation comes from Christ

• The Church is the ordinary means of salvation

• Other faiths have some truth but also have "gaps, insufficiencies and errors."

• Dialogue does not dispense from evangelization. Bishops of Asia

• In this section, Pope Paul II highlights that questions of soteriology are only answered by Jesus.

• Other faiths though have value, but their value is limited as they do not have the complete picture of salvation, unlike Christianity. He then refers to the bishops of Asia as he explains that although evangelism may be difficult and seem unfruitful as so few converts are made, it is still important for them to try and convert as this is what they are called to do. 56.

• Dialogue is an activity with its own guiding principles – dignity & respect

• Through dialogue the Church seeks to uncover the "seeds of the Word" and "ray of that truth" are found in individuals and in religious traditions

• Dialogue is based on hope and love, and will bear fruit in the Spirit.

• Should not approach dialogue with close-mindedness but with truth, humility, and frankness, knowing that dialogue can enrich each side. In this section, Pope Paul II highlights that through dialogue Christians can plant seeds of knowledge, other faiths have value as a 'ray of truth' and Christians should approach any dialogue with an underlying respect for others which is shown by them not presenting as ignorant

Can take place in many forms:

Exchanges between experts in religious traditions official representatives of those traditions to cooperate for the integral development and safeguarding of religious values "dialogue of life"

Dialogue is a path toward the kingdom and will certainly bear fruit, even if the times and seasons are known only to the Father (cf. Acts 1:7).

There is more to interfaith dialogue than that Ford has demonstrated, and Christians should engage with all of them as God will cause them to bear fruits.

A member of the Church of England, Paul Eddy wrote to the synod in 2006 asking for guidance on whether he should be trying to convert people to Christianity. He thought that Christians had become too fearful of being offensive and no longer felt comfortable proclaiming that Jesus was the only route to salvation. Following a discussion in the synod, the Church of England released the document 'Sharing the Gospel of Salvation' in April 2010.

Sharing the Gospel of Salvation replaces 'Towards the Conversion of England' released by the church in 1945, the documents show the exceptional change in the views of the Church of England over 65 years. As 'Towards the Conversation of England' very much supports the idea that all people from other faiths need to convert to the main religion of England- Christianity. As this is the only faith that it true.

Sharing the Gospel of Salvation takes a more socially cohesive approach as although it reaffirms the Christian message that salvation is uniquely available through Christ and that Christians should live as disciples which always involves sharing faith with others. This is supported in the forewords of the document that state 'The gospel testifies to the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in God's plan for the salvation of the world. There can be no greater theme – and no higher calling for the Church than to bear witness to salvation in and through Christ. Showing that ultimately if Christians want others to gain salvation, this has to be done through Jesus.

However, the document acknowledges that there are substantial communities of non-Christians in the UK and advises Christians to "go beyond tolerance into positive dialogue and change". Showing that Christians should not merely put up with living among members of other religions but, should try to engage with them and find opportunities to talk with them. Sharing the Gospel of Salvation reminds Christians that conversion to Christianity from other world faiths can be very difficult and cause hurt to family members, therefore they should be patient.

Although supporting the History of the motivation and need for mission work as was commissioned by Jesus in the great commission whereby he states 'Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit' Matt 28 19-20.

Sharing the gospel of salvation also highlights the difference between mission and marketing, the document warns against treating the Christian mission as a marketing exercise where non-Christians are seen as targets and instead highlights that when people do convert to Christianity it is because of the work of God, and not because of their own achievements in 'making a sale'. Christians are advised to share their faith by living for the good of others, rather than by just telling people what they should believe.

Four strands to IFD:

• The dialogue of daily life – people should strike up informal conversations about their religious beliefs and show others their beliefs through their actions.
• The dialogue of the common good – adherents of different faiths work together to benefit the community.

• The dialogue of mutual understanding – people get together in formalized debates, such as the scriptural reasoning movement of Interfaith dialogue.
• Dialogue of spiritual life – people of different religions meet together for prayer and worship All of these approaches have a clear ultimate aim which is conversation.

However Sharing the gospel of salvation does not encourage overt evangelism but rather "opportunities for creative expressions of the Christian story", as this is enable more social cohesion. The ask all Christians to be willing to share their faith, taking inspiration form Peters words 'Be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have' 1 Peter 3:15.

However, remember to do this way that is not seen as hostile but rather cohesive.

Interfaith dialogue strengths:

• Develops social cohesion and abandons othering, as each faith shows respect to the other's beliefs including differences
• Enables Christian truth claims to stay intact, each belief is considered as valid as the others
• Christians have been able to embrace IFD while maintaining their soteriological aims, as all Christians can still be Christocentric they hold that interfaith dialogue will be one tool that they will use to help convert others.
• Develops the faith and understanding of Christians who engage with it, as they gain a deeper understanding of their faith and that of others.

Interfaith dialogue Weakness:

• It questions the authority of Scripture as Christians may feel that if accepting difference as being valid is the foundation of interfaith dialogue, then they can not share what scripture says about the Christocentric nature of truth.
• It puts political correctness at the center of dialogue as no one is offended as everyone's beliefs are valid, rather than soteriology, which is not in line with the redemption mission and sharing the gospel of salvation.
• Excludes non-Abrahamic Faiths, which undermines social cohesion for all
• Lack of Judgments as there is no measurement of valid claims, anyone is welcome to interfaith dialogue and welcome to their own internal and external reasoning, whether informed by study or knowledge or just from own opinion all are considered valid.