The theological challenge of religious pluralism

pp. 179-194

in: John Hick, Dialogues in the philosophy of religion, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010

Abstract

In our own time a new challenge to the structure of Christian belief has come from our awareness, not merely of the existence of the other great world faiths — there is nothing new in that — but of their spiritual and moral power. The challenge is to the traditional assumption of the unique superiority of the Christian gospel, or faith, or religion. If I am right, we are in the early stages of an adjustment that may take another 50 or more years. This is the transition from a view of Christianity as the one and only true religion to a new Christian self-understanding as one true religion among others. This will certainly mean a considerable restructuring of Christian theology.