This paper examines a variety of intellectual responses to the religious and philosophical issues raised by religious plurality. While the specific questions raised by religious plurality differ across traditions, the more general problem that faces all religious intellectuals is how to provide a compelling theoretical account of the relationship between the various religions of the world. The paper briefly reviews religious exclusivism and inclusivism, before focusing upon theories of religious pluralism. After clarifying the distinction between religious pluralism and relativism about religion, and comparing and assessing various forms of pluralism, the paper concludes that how compelling any particular theory of religious diversity proves to be will be dependent upon how convincing one finds the underlying understanding of religion. This implies that the real priority for scholars concerned with rival theories of religious plurality is to strive towards a common understanding of the nature of religion.

Religious plurality is a pervasive feature of the modern world. In today's modern cities, it is not unusual for adherents of diverse religious traditions to live side by side. Indeed, for the majority of people alive today, it is no longer possible to take for granted a homogeneous religious tradition. This means that they cannot assume, as many of their ancestors probably did, that the key events of their lives—in particular, birth, marriage and the death of their loved ones—are to be interpreted within a religious conceptual framework that is unquestioningly accepted by the vast majority in their society.

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