ABSTRACT
The process of globalization accelerates the general awareness of the plurality of religions. As a side effect of international communication, trade, politics and mobility, people become increasingly aware of the existence of a multitude of world views, and they are led to critically reflect on their own assumptions. This chapter shows that religious pluralism can develop in several modes. Religious diversity is intensified by globalization. It is more probable that globalization is leading to a plurality of pluralisms. This chapter discusses this problem, approaching it from the perspective of the sociology of religion. After a brief review of various definitions of pluralism, it elaborates upon the concept of religious pluralism by introducing a distinction of different levels of analysis and by situating the concepts of recent theoretical debates within the realm of sociology of religion. The chapter analyzes different modes of religious pluralism at a national and a European level.
