ABSTRACT
Few topics generate in our day as much heated discussion and controversy as the matter of Christianity’s relationship to other cultures, religions, and value systems. One topic is particularly vexing – namely, Christianity’s relationship to democratic culture. What remains non-controversial amidst heated public debate on a variety of fronts is the recognition of the radically pluralist and tolerant character of the contemporary Zeitgeist. At the heart of the debates raging around us is lodged the need for many to question the very notion and nature of truth, a term that more often than not finds itself surrounded by quotation marks. But where did these grammatical indicators originate? And why? This chapter examines the character and content of “pluralism” as it is widely construed today. It evaluates the moral-philosophical assumptions that stand behind popular understanding of “diversity,” “neutrality,” and “tolerance.” In so doing, it welcomes particular “post-secular” insights into the role that religion plays in public life, arguing for a “chastened” and “principled” understanding of “pluralism.”
