Pressure Point #4 Pluralism and the Plurality of Faiths

In this fifth post on the Pressure Points: Twelve Global Issues Shaping the Face of the Church series, we turn our attention toward pluralism and religious diversity.

Religion is alive and well in all regions of the world, especially in the highly secular Western contexts. Send a few tweets commenting on Muhammad and you could go to jail, your house could be burned, you could start a riot. Swear in a U. S. president and the media covers whether or not the Bibles of Lincoln or King, or both will be used. Why does a murderer shoot people in a gurdwara? Because he finds people there gathered in the name of religion.

Religion is alive and well today on planet earth.

We often hear of pluralism applied to the Christian faith. Jesus becomes one of many ways to God. The Church feels the pressure of pluralism and the plurality of faiths both internally and externally. Internally, we question, “Did Jesus really mean, ‘I am the way. . . no one comes to the Father but by me?'” “Did Peter and John really mean, ‘Salvation is found in no one else?'” And why do we ask such questions? Because we have Al Jazeera, CNN, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, migration, our kids play sports with kids from religiously diverse families, and we share the break room with that devout practitioner. We see fully devoted followers of other faith traditions and internally question the exclusivity of the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

Externally, we observe the growth of Islam and the rise of the “Nones” (those who claim no religious adherence) in the U.S. and wonder why we should bother with the mission while so many people are getting on or off of the religious bus elsewhere. Consider the following estimated adherents across the world:

Folk Religionists: 405 million
Hindus: 1 billion
Muslims: 1.6 billion
Buddhists: 488 million
Jews: 14 million
Religious unaffiliated: 1 billion
Other religions: 58 million

Recognizing the global numbers provides the scope of the pressure point, but understanding the peoples is key to reaching their hearts. Understanding a people geographically, demographically, culturally, spiritually, politically, historically, and linguistically helps us to understand how best to communicate the gospel, make disciples, plant churches, teach obedience, and raise up leadership for those churches.

Even with pluralism and the plurality of faiths being alive and well in today’s world, the Church has been given a never changing commission, to proclaim a never changing gospel, of a never changing King, in an ever changing world–filled with the pressure points of the doctrines of demons.

Previous posts in this series:

The Church and the Pressure Points of the Age

Unreached Peoples

The West as a Mission Field

Growth of the Majority World Church

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(image source credit: Microsoft Office)