Religious Traditions

Religious traditions are important in the discourse around religious issues because they provide members with “external expression in human history (Whitehead). According to Whitehead, the importance of rituals cannot be gainsaid. They are necessary since they form the basis of human attachment to each other in a religious context. In other words, it provides us with a sense of communality and belonging to a particular religious
movement. It is also defined as the embodiment of a people’s struggle in a specific social and political context. When used in a spiritual context, it implies the expression of a particular religious movement’s political struggle as defined by history. For instance, the Protestant movement draws inspiration from the struggles against Catholicism during the days of Martin Luther. Ditto the Calvinistic movement.  Traditions document these political struggles as well as providing a template within which spiritual conversation is to be conducted.
Prothero argues that it is improper to claim that all faiths are one and the same. In protesting this claim, Prothero argues that we have different economic and political systems in the world, and yet no one has ever claimed that, deep down, they are all the same. Such an argument, claims Prothero, is very harmful in understanding issues created by the various religious movements in the world. Prothero can present the basic tenets of the philosophical school that asserts that all faiths are the same in a concise and clear manner. According to the school of thought that holds the view that all religions are the same, Prothero identifies the logic that since all religions are concerned with bringing people closer to God, then they are basically the same. However, Prothero discounts this by providing examples of religious movements whose dogma fiercely clash.  The unification theory (if it may be referred to as such) holds that the different religious ensembles are merely the different paths people take to arrive at the same destination at some later day. Proselytizers such as Gandhi, Karen Armstrong, and the Dalai Lama take the view that all religions are premised on the same cornerstone.
The other side of the spectrum holds that the religious movements existing on earth are different and cannot be understood as having the same message or end game. Prothero takes the view that different religions have different philosophies and traditions, and to classify them as being “all the same deep down” is erroneous. By using examples drawn from Muslim and Catholic rituals, Prothero is emphatic that Muslims would consider a person who has not undertaken hajj as not satisfying the requirements a Muslim is to adhere to.  Catholics regard baptism an essential practice, and a person who has not been baptized as fulfilling all the requisite criteria for going to heaven. Indeed, as the Catholic Church demonstrates in the Nostra Aetate, a document that declares the stance taken by the papacy on its relationship with other non-Catholic religions. The Nostra Aetate distances itself from the claim that all faiths are “basically the same” by insisting that it only recognizes those practices that are similar to the Church’s teaching up to the extent that they help in winning souls and bringing people closer to God.  As an example, the Catholic Church recognizes the Muslim practice of respecting Abraham. It also draws similarities shared by the two religions. The Church recognizes in the Nostra Aetate that the Church and Islam share monotheism and believe their God is omnipotent and merciful. The Nostra Aetate decries the mistreatment of Jews and repudiates the claim that Jews are responsible for the deicide of Jesus Christ. From the Nostra Aetate, we learn of the different perspectives in the approach towards a balanced religious discourse.
The two approaches are unconvincing in different ways. For instance, the stance that all religions are the same fails on the ground that some religious organizations have shown an aversion to the principles of peace, salvation and ethics. The churches that were led by David Koresh and Jim Jones (Jonestown Massacre) resulted to wanton destruction of life and property and apparently failed to show any similarity in dogma with other mainstream religions. Buddhism has different ambitions from Christianity and Islam. The ideas of Nirvana cannot be reconciled with those of Paradise espoused by Christianity and Islam. The second approach fails on account of its inability to recognize the glaring similarities in the fundamental dogma of most religions. It cannot be denied that there are some real points of confluence between most world religions. To dismiss this is to deny the existence of these associations.
Portier takes the view that to resolve the controversy it is important to adopt a position that emphasizes the fact that religious experience is capable of happening to everyone. Using such an analogy helps bridge the gap in the discourse by admitting that it is possible for every religious person to appreciate the religious experience. Two models can be used to achieve this reconciliation. The use of the dialectic approach results in differentiation of religious experiences.  The analytical approach appreciates the fact that it is possible to experience God or any other spiritual qualities through “other forms of creation.”
In conclusion, it is important to emphasize that the debate on religious experiences must take into account all the interests of the world religions if a sensible conversation about issues is to be developed. We can use a multi-pronged approach to settling this dispute. By employing the Portier Model, it is possible to resolve this conflict. Theology should bring people together and not divide them, despite the innate differences in religious dogma.