Universalism

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This article is about Universalism in religion and theology. For other uses of the word, see Universalism (disambiguation).
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Universalism
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General concepts

Universalism
Groups

Christian Universalism
The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo.

Universalism, in its primary sense, refers to religious, theological, and philosophical concepts with universal application or applicability. Religion in this context is defined as a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.[1] Universalism is a term used to identify particular doctrines considering all people in their formation. Universalism in the religious context claims that religion or religious man (sic) is a universal quality. This can be contrasted with nonuniversalist religions.

In its secondary sense, a church or community that calls itself Universalist may emphasize the universal principles of most religions and accept other religions in an inclusive manner, believing in a universal reconciliation between humanity and the divine. For example Abrahamic religions like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam still claim a universal value of their doctrine and moral principles because they feel they are inclusive.[2]

A belief in one common truth is also another important tenet. The living truth is seen as more far-reaching than national, cultural, or religious boundaries.

Contents

[edit] Christianity

Main article: Christian Universalism
See also: Universal Reconciliation and Trinitarian Universalism

In Christianity, Universalism can refer to the beliefs that all humans either may or will be saved through Jesus Christ and eventually come to harmony in God's kingdom. This salvation is expressed as offered both to the Jew, and also to the Gentile (Romans 1:16,Romans 9:24-25,Revelation 7:9). It is opposed to the doctrines of reprobation and double-predestination in Calvinism.

The Greek term apokatastasis came to be related by some to the beliefs of Christian Universalism, but in early Patristic usage is distinct. Additionally the term Catholic is derived from the Greek word katholikos, which means universal. The Catholic Church is universal in the sense that it embraces individuals "from every race, nation, language, and people", but does not teach Christian Universalism as a sanctioned doctrine.

Universalist writers such as George T. Knight have claimed that Universalism was a widely held view among theologians in Early Christianity[2] However, some examples, such as Origen and Clement of Alexandria, used by Knight and other Universalist writers are contested by writers such as Crouzel[citation needed], Root[citation needed], Norris[citation needed], and Itter[citation needed].

Christian Universalist ideas are first undisputedly documented in 17th-century England and 18th-century Europe and America. Gerrard Winstanley (1648), Richard Coppin (1652), Jane Leade (1697), and then George de Benneville in America, taught that God would grant all human beings salvation. Those in America teaching this became known as the Universalists.[3]

[edit] Hinduism

Hinduism embraces universalism by conceiving the whole world as a single family that deifies the one truth, and therefore it accepts all forms of beliefs and dismisses labels of distinct religions which would imply a division of identity.[4][5][6] Hindu Universalism denotes the ideology that all religions are true and therefore worthy of toleration and respect.[citation needed] Veneration for all other religions was articulated by Gandhi:

"After long study and experience, I have come to the conclusion that [1] all religions are true; [2] all religions have some error in them; [3] all religions are almost as dear to me as my own Hinduism, in as much as all human beings should be as dear to one as one's own close relatives. My own veneration for other faiths is the same as that for my own faith; therefore no thought of conversion is possible." (M. K. Gandhi, All Men Are Brothers: Life and Thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi as told in his own words, Paris, UNESCO 1958, p 60.)

[edit] Sikhism

In Sikhism, all the religions of the world are compared to rivers flowing into a single ocean. Although the Sikh Gurus did not agree with the practices of fasting, idolatry and pilgrimage during their times, they stressed that all religions should be tolerated and considered on equal footing. The Sikh Scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib contains the writings of not just the Sikh Gurus themselves, but the writings of several Hindu and Muslim saints, known as the 'Bhagats'. Although Sikhism does not believe that humans are created in God's image, it states that the essence of the One is to be found all throughout its creation. As was said by Yogi Bhajan, the man who is credited with having brought Sikhism to the West:

"If you can't see God in all, you can't see God at all". (Sri Singh Sahib, Yogi Bhajan)

The First Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak said himself:

"There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim".

By this, Guru Nanak meant that there is no distinction between religion in God's eyes, whether polytheist, monotheist, pantheist or even atheist, all that one needs to gain salvation is purity of heart, tolerance of all beings, compassion and kindness. Unlike many of the major world religions, Sikhism does not have missionaries, instead it believes humans have the freedom to find their own path to salvation.

[edit] Judaism

Main article: Jewish views of religious pluralism
See also: Noahidism

Judaism teaches that God chose the Jewish people to be in a unique covenant with God, and one of their beliefs is that Jewish people were charged by the Torah with a specific mission — to be a light unto the nations, and to exemplify the covenant with God as described in the Torah to other nations. Not explicitly a Universalist theology, this view, however, does not preclude a belief that God also has a relationship with other peoples — rather, Judaism holds that God had entered into a covenant with all humanity as Noachides, and that Jews and non-Jews alike have a relationship with God.[7]

The Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute (JSLI) believes in a more inclusive version of Jewish Universalism, believing that "God equally chose all nations to be lights unto the world, and we have much to learn and share with each other. We can only accomplish "Tikkun Olam" by our unconditional acceptance of each other's peaceful doctrines." [8]

[edit] Islam

Further information: Ummah, Divisions of the world in Islam, Jihad, Dhimmi, Jizya, and People of the Book

Islam recognizes to a certain extent the validity of the Abrahamic religions, the Qur'an identifying Jews, Christians, and "Sabi'un" or "baptists" (usually taken as a reference to the Mandeans) as "people of the book" (ahl al-kitab). Later Islamic theologians expanded this definition to include Zoroastrians, and later even Hindus, as the early Islamic empire brought many people professing these religions under its dominion, but the Qur'an explicitly identifies only Jews, Christians, and Sabians as People of the Book.[9][10][11]

Views of Muslims range along a continuum, from the most inclusive teaching common among liberal Muslims summed up in Surah 2:62,256[12] - "Verily! Those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and do righteous good deeds shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve...let there be no compulsion in religion" - that all monotheistic religions or people of the book have a chance of salvation, to the most exclusive teaching common amongst Salafis and Wahhabis, and supported by several works of medieval Islamic theology and by traditions (hadith) which are considered correct (sahih) by Sunni Muslims, for the most part are summed up in Surah 9:5,29: "Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters [mushrikun] wherever ye find them, and take them, and besiege them, and lay in wait in every stratagem of war. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the jizya, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful...Fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture [i.e. people of the book] as believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, and forbid not that which Allah hath forbidden by His messenger, and follow not the Religion of Truth, until they pay the jizya readily, being brought low [in submission]."[13]

The interpretation of all of these passages are hotly contested amongst various schools of thought, traditionalist and reform-minded, and branches of Islam, from the reforming Qur'anists and Ahmadiyya to the ultra-traditionalist Salafi, as is the doctrine of abrogation (naskh) which is used to determine which verses take precedent, based on reconstructed chronology, with later verses superseding earlier ones. The traditional chronology places Surah 9 as the last or second-to-last surah revealed, thus, in traditional exegesis, it gains a large power of abrogation, and verses 9:5,29,73 are held to have abrogated 2:256[14] The ahadith also play a major role in this, and different schools of thought assign different weightings and rulings of authenticity to different hadith, with the four schools of Sunni thought accepting the Six Authentic Collections, generally along with the Muwatta Imam Malik. Depending on the level of acceptance of rejection of certain traditions, the interpretation of the Koran can be changed immensely, from the Qur'anists and Ahmadiyya who reject the ahadith, to the Salafi, or ahl al-hadith, who hold the entirety of the traditional collections in great reverence.

Traditional Islam[15][16][17] views the world as bipartite, consisting of the House of Islam, that is, where people live under the Islamic law - the Shariah[16][17] - and the House of War, that is, where the people do not live under Islamic law, which must be proselytized (see da'wah) [18][19][16][17] using whatever resources available, including, in some traditionalist and conservative interpretations,[20] the use of violence, as holy struggle in the path of Allah,[21][22][23] to either convert its inhabitants to Islam, or to rule them under the Shariah (cf. dhimmi);[24][25] since the abolition of the Caliphate, there has been debate about the proper role of divisions of the world in Islam, and whether the traditional bipartite division is sufficient to meet the needs of the ummah (world community of Muslims) and world moving in to the future.

The Ash'ari school of Sunni aqidah (theology) holds that those who had never heard of the message of Islam, by virtue of isolation, can still be saved by the grace of Allah, similar to Karl Rahner's concept of the Anonymous Christian. Sufis generally hold to a much more inclusivist and tolerant view of other faiths and religious systems than traditional Sunni and Shi'a Islam.

[edit] Zoroastrianism and Manicheanism

Main articles: Zoroastrianism and Manicheanism

Some forms of Zoroastrian and Manichean belief were universalistic in application to all races, but not universalist in the sense of universal salvation.[26]

[edit] Bahá'í Faith

In Bahá'í belief, a single God has sent all the historic founders of the world religions in a process of progressive revelation. The major world religions are seen as divine in origin and are continuous in their purpose. In this view, there is unity among the founders of world religions, but each revelation brings a more advanced set of teachings in human history.[27] Within this universal view, the unity of humanity is one of the central teachings of the Bahá'í Faith.[28] The Bahá'í teachings state that since all humans have been created in the image of God, God does not make any distinction between people regardless of race, colour or religion.[29] Thus, because all humans have been created equal, they all require equal opportunities and treatment.[28] Thus the Bahá'í view promotes the unity of humanity, and that people's vision should be world-embracing and that people should love the whole world rather than just their nation.[29] The teaching, however, does not equal unity with uniformity, but instead the Bahá'í writings advocate for the principle of unity in diversity where the variety in the human race is valued.[30]

[edit] Yi Guan Dao

Main article: I-Kuan Tao

Yi Guan Dao (loosely translated as "Universal Taoism", "the pervasive truth", or "the consistent path") incorporates elements from Confucianism, Taoism, and Chinese Buddhism, and recognizes the validity of non-Chinese religious traditions such as Christianity and Islam as well. For this reason it is often classified as a syncretistic sect, along with other similar religions in the Way of Former Heaven (Xian Tian Dao) family.

[edit] New Thought

Main article: New Thought

Unity, Religious Science, Divine Science are denominations within the New Thought movement. Each teaches that there is a common thread of truth at the heart of all religions. New Thought is an ever-evolving belief system which will incorporate Truth where ever it is found, hence the name New Thought. All is God, But God transcends all.

[edit] Non-religious Universalism

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Universalism is not only a set of values, but a world view. To which any can prescribe if they observe and believe in the universality of the human experience, and that of all sentient life - and work to uphold the principles, ethics, and actions which safeguard these fundamental things.

Indeed many Universalists may be attracted to the logic of universally applicable principals, rather than any belief or dogma. Human unity, solidarity, and the perceived need for a sustainable and socially conscious global order are among the tendencies of non-religious Universalist thought.

[edit] See also

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[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Religion
  2. ^ a b George T. Knight The Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, 1953, vol. 12, p. 96; retrieved 30/04/09
  3. ^ Unitarian Universalism: A Research Guide By: Neal Wyatt ; Tierney V Dwyer ; Tierney V Dwyer Format: Article Year: 2008 Published in: Reference & User Services Quarterly SpringDF2008, Vol. 47 Issue 3, p210-214 5p 10949054 ][F;[]G=PY[GPGOPFG[A][]P[H[FDC Database: Academic Search Premier
  4. ^ (Rigveda 1:164:46) “Ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti” - Truth is one; sages call it many names
  5. ^ (Maha Upanishad: Chapter 6, Verse 72) "Vasudhaiva kutumbakam" - The entire world is a one big family
  6. ^ Badlani, Hiro (2008), Hinduism: Path of the Ancient Wisdom, iUniverse, p. 303, ISBN 9780595701834, http://books.google.com/?id=8NrQhyxH-GgC 
  7. ^ Covenant-Jewish Universalism and Particularism By: David Polish Format: Article Year: 1985 Published in: Judaism Summer85, Vol. 34 Issue 3, p284 17p 00225762 Database: Academic Search Premier
  8. ^ http://www.jsli.net/jewish-universalism
  9. ^ Crone, Patricia (2005). God's Rule: Government and Islam: Six Centuries of Medieval Islamic Political Thought. Columbia University Press. pp. 472. ISBN 978-0231132916. 
  10. ^ Lapidus, Ira M. (2002). A History of Islamic Societies. Cambridge, England, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1000. ISBN 978-0521779333. 
  11. ^ Karsh, Efraim (2007). Islamic Imperialism: A History. Yale University Press. pp. 304. ISBN 978-0300122633. 
  12. ^ 1. S. A. Rahman, Punishment of Apostasy in Islam, Institute of Islamic Culture, Lahore, 1972
  13. ^ All quotations of the Koran taken from the USC Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement (formerly the USC Muslim Students' Association) Compendium of Muslim Texts: http://www.cmje.org/religious-texts/home/, Yusuf Ali or AJ Arberry translations.
  14. ^ Ibn Kathir, Ismail (1301-1373) (2000). Sheikh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri. ed (in English and Arabic). Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Aziz (Tafsir Ibn Kathir) (English Abridged ed.). Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Maktaba Darussalam. pp. 6608. ISBN 978-1591440208. 
  15. ^ Ibn Kathir, Ismail (1301-1373) (2000). Sheikh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri. ed (in English and Arabic). Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Aziz (Tafsir Ibn Kathir) (English Abridged ed.). Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Maktaba Darussalam. pp. 6608. ISBN 978-1591440208. 
  16. ^ a b c Fatwa by Sheikh `Atiya Saqr, former head of Al-Azhar Fatwa Committee, about the concept of Dar al-Harb and Dar al-Islam
  17. ^ a b c "Ahmed Khalil: "Dar Al-Islam And Dar Al-Harb: Its Definition and Significance"". English.islamway.com. http://english.islamway.com/bindex.php?section=article&id=211. Retrieved 2011-03-13. 
  18. ^ Ye'or, Bat (1985). [978-0838632628 The Dhimmi: Jews and Christians Under Islam]. Farleign Dickinson University Press. pp. 444. 978-0838632628. 
  19. ^ Ye'or, Bat. The Decline of Eastern Christianity Under Islam: From Jihad to Dhimmitude: 7th-20th Centuries. Farleigh Dickinson University Press. pp. 522. ISBN 978-0838636886. 
  20. ^ Ibn Kathir's Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Aziz
  21. ^ Sayyid Qutb Milestones
  22. ^ Ibn Kathir's Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Aziz
  23. ^ Karsh, Efraim (2007). Islamic Imperialism: A History. Yale University Press. pp. 304. ISBN 978-0300122633. 
  24. ^ Durie, Mark (2010). The Third Choice: Islam, Dhimmitude and Freedom. Deror Books. pp. 288. ISBN 978-0980722314. 
  25. ^ Ye'or, Bat (2001). Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide. Farleigh Dickinson University Press. pp. 528. ISBN 978-0838639429. 
  26. ^ Jonathan Porter Berkey The formation of Islam: religion and society in the Near East 2003 p28 "This is not to say that there was no universalist dimension to Zoroastrian religious life; but what universalism there was derived directly, and to a greater degree than in the case of Rome and Christianity, from the explicit connection between religion and the state."
  27. ^ Buck, Christopher (1999). Paradise and Paradigm: Key Symbols in Persian Christianity and the Bahá'í Faith. Albany: State University of New York Press. p. 292. 
  28. ^ a b Stockman, Robert (2000). "The Baha'i Faith". Sourcebook of the World's Religions. New World Library. p. 7. ISBN 1577311213. 
  29. ^ a b Smith, Peter (2008). An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 138. ISBN 0-521-86251-5. 
  30. ^ Smith, Peter (2008). An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 139. ISBN 0-521-86251-5. 

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

  • Ankerl, Guy (2000). Global communication without universal civilization. INU societal research. Vol.1: Coexisting contemporary civilizations : Arabo-Muslim, Bharati, Chinese, and Western. Geneva: INU Press. ISBN 2-88155-004-5. 
  • Palmquist, Stephen, "Christianity as the Universal Religion", Chapter Eight in Stephen Palmquist, Kant's Critical Religion (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2000).

[edit] External links

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