9 - Beyond Inclusivism and Pluralism

Summary

A brief final chapter then tries to set the arguments of the book as whole in the context of some of the major writers in the field of inter-faith dialogue. The key role of cultural conditioning is once again deployed to suggest that a more nuanced position is required than what was eventually adopted by major figures such as Cantwell Smith, John Hick, Keith Ward and Paul Knitter. The chapter then ends by exploring some more practical ways of furthering dialogue, together with their implications; among them occasional attendance at one another’s places of worship and a better appreciation of some underlying shared foundations in religious architecture and other forms of symbolism.