Part II | Outline

Category A | Frameworks

Topic 1 | Principled pluralism

Principled pluralism is a strategy for living together with our deep differences (religious and otherwise), without requiring anyone to give up their deep convictions. Principled pluralism will not require people to limit manifestations of their convictions any more than is necessary for living together peacefully and to protect the rights and freedoms of others. It provides a more sustainable strategy for addressing diversity of thought and protecting religious freedom than other governance frameworks such as multiculturalism, moralism, or other forms of pluralism, such as laïcité or Judeo-Christian secularism.

Governance frameworks  

• Multiculturalism as a governance framework attempts to sustainably address diversity of thought by allowing all identity groups to live out their principles fully. However, it does not address reconciling different minority group identities when their rights are in tension.

• Moralism as a governance framework addresses diversity of thought by attempting to homogenize social conscience, eradicating thought that diverges from state-mandated moral claims. Historically employed by extremists, moralism makes no requirements for mutual understanding and instead foments discontent, discrimination, and/or violence.

• Pluralism as a governance framework acknowledges that while we are unlikely to agree on some of the deepest and most important questions (such as the nature of God or religious truth), we can still find ways of living together in peace and harmony. The key legal principle is tolerance. The key political principle is respect. The key religious principle is love.

Principled pluralism  

• Principled pluralism is an attractive alternative to other forms of pluralism, including laïcité or Judeo-Christian secularism. It seeks to find strategies for living together that do not demand we modify or abandon the manifestations of our most important commitments, ideals, and understandings of truth, unless such limitations are necessary to protect the reciprocal rights of others or deeply important public goods.

• The key idea is that we can find ways to live together in peace and harmony without sacrificing what is most important to us. Principled pluralism includes having courage to stand up for what you believe, while maintaining humility to understand you may be wrong and empathy to try to understand and respectfully engage with those who hold differing views.

• Key obstacles to principled pluralism are relativism (truth is relative) and personalism (my truth is as good as your truth).

• Covenantal pluralism. Templeton Religion Trust (TRT) in recent years has promoted the concept of covenantal pluralism, which is a variation on the theme of principled pluralism.

  • A caution. This may be a misapplication of the religious term covenant, which for some religious traditions, including Latter-day Saints, is a sacred and solemn promise involving reciprocal obligations between God and human beings, who enter into vertically binding covenantal relationships through sacred ordinances.
  • An additional caveat. Those invoking the term covenantal pluralism are often receiving or seeking funding from TRT—a fact noted as an observation rather than a criticism, and as a guide for understanding the source and purpose of the term.