- [UNTITLED]
- Acknowledgments
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Historical Reflections on Religious Diversity
- A Religious Studies Approach to Questions about Religious Diversity
- A Philosophical Approach to Questions about Religious Diversity
- A Sociological Approach to Questions about Religious Diversity
- Pluralism and Relativism
- Religious Exclusivism
- The Diversity of Religious Experience
- Interreligious Dialogue
- The Religious Alien
- Religious Diversity and a Global Ethic
- Theology amid Religious Diversity
- Religious Diversity, Evil, and a Variety of Theodicies
- Religion and Revelation
- Religious Diversity and Globalization
- Religious Demographics and the New Diversity
- New Religious Movements in Global Perspective
- Race, Ethnicity, and Religion
- Religious Diversity, Secularization, and Postmodernity
- Multiple Modernities and Religion
- Religious Violence and Peace
- Religious Diversity in Public Education
- Religious Diversity and Religious Environmentalism
- A Hindu Perspective
- A Buddhist Perspective
- An African Religions Perspective
- A Chinese Religions Perspective
- A Jewish Perspective
- A Christian Perspective
- An Islamic Perspective
- A Feminist Perspective
- A Continental Perspective
- A Naturalistic Perspective
- Index
Abstract and Keywords
Suffering, injustice, tragedy, and death are basic to human experience. Peter Berger observes that each religion bears the burden of relating these negative phenomena—commonly called “evils”—to its understanding of ultimate reality. The problem, then, is the challenge of coherently accounting for evil while preserving and developing essential commitments about the divine, the cosmos, and the human venture. But this means that there is no single problem of evil across all religions; instead, the exact formulation of the problem is specific to the commitments of each particular tradition. Likewise, there is no one formula for response that is common to religions. Using Max Weber's broad definition of theodicy as a religious explanation for evil, this article examines religious diversity by focusing on four major religions—Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism—and explores key themes out of which their theodicies are typically constructed. It also examines theories of human suffering as a phenomenon that calls forth the most profound responses.
Keywords: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, evil, theodicy, religion, human suffering, reality
Michael L. Peterson is professor of philosophy and chair of the department at Asbury College. Among books he has written are Evil and the Christian God and God and Evil: An Introduction to the Issues. Among the books he has edited or co-edited are The Problem of Evil: Selected Readings and Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Religion. He is general editor of the Blackwell series “Exploring Philosophy of Religion” and since 1984 has served as managing editor of the scholarly journal Faith and Philosophy.
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- [UNTITLED]
- Acknowledgments
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Historical Reflections on Religious Diversity
- A Religious Studies Approach to Questions about Religious Diversity
- A Philosophical Approach to Questions about Religious Diversity
- A Sociological Approach to Questions about Religious Diversity
- Pluralism and Relativism
- Religious Exclusivism
- The Diversity of Religious Experience
- Interreligious Dialogue
- The Religious Alien
- Religious Diversity and a Global Ethic
- Theology amid Religious Diversity
- Religious Diversity, Evil, and a Variety of Theodicies
- Religion and Revelation
- Religious Diversity and Globalization
- Religious Demographics and the New Diversity
- New Religious Movements in Global Perspective
- Race, Ethnicity, and Religion
- Religious Diversity, Secularization, and Postmodernity
- Multiple Modernities and Religion
- Religious Violence and Peace
- Religious Diversity in Public Education
- Religious Diversity and Religious Environmentalism
- A Hindu Perspective
- A Buddhist Perspective
- An African Religions Perspective
- A Chinese Religions Perspective
- A Jewish Perspective
- A Christian Perspective
- An Islamic Perspective
- A Feminist Perspective
- A Continental Perspective
- A Naturalistic Perspective
- Index
