Religious Diversity and Theology

Abstract

This chapter examines John Hick’s proposal for a ‘Copernican revolution’ in theological method that starts with the science of religions in place of the traditional starting point of the scriptures of one’s own religious tradition. After examining his arguments for the said revolution and finding them wanting, I argue that Hick neglects the necessarily existential character of theology. I use examples of theology from the Indian subcontinent with its very long tradition of religious diversity for exposing the hollowness of Hick’s arguments. The typically modern objectivist epistemology that neglects the subjectivity of the knower is shown to be at work in Hick’s treatment of religious diversity.