★★★★★ 5
An Invitation to Better Dialogue
Format: Paperback
Perry Schmidt-Leukel has tackled one of the most difficult intellectual minefields of all - religious pluralism. I admire his attempt, desire and intentions. This work is based off of a 2015 Gifford lecture in Glasgow.
Religious Pluralism is one of the three possible stances that address the Problem of Religious Diversity. The other two stances are significantly more common and also close sisters - Exclusivism and Inclusivism. Pluralism is the most radical stance but also one most needed in a globally-connected world with seemingly ineradicable conflict and violence.
One can safely ignore, by the way, the stance that all religions are nothing but projections of immature minds (Naturalism); this is a gaslighting position which tries to throw the baby out with the bathwater and does not really address the issue of religious diversity. Religion should be treated with the seriousness it is due and humans are inherently homo religiosus as history and culture attest.
There are several reasons why Pluralism should be considered the superior stance. First, it is the most pragmatic as alluded to in my above statement on conflict. Second, if one understands Truth as something that no human or group of humans can ever have a monopoly on then Pluralism makes more sense than the other two. I should add that we should approach understanding of Truth more as a peregrination than as some fixed or static destination.
Third, much of religious diversity is due to historical, cultural and especially linguistic differences but if we spend time in interreligious dialogue, we can begin to see that the religions are often saying the same things but using different jargon. The jargon should not be confused with Reality or Truth. As humans, we must continually be humbled by our lowly ability to understand reality as it is in itself and our immense limitations of language. Language too often creates division and can also circumscribe our ability to understand. Yet, it is all we really have to communicate with.
Perry spends some time first outlining what a program of sustained interreligious dialogue would look like and some foundational principles. He then addresses some of the biggest elephants in the room - The Son, The Prophet and The Buddha - and how we can approach possible reconciliation, or at least how we can begin to frame the discussion. The other main issue is the problem of a Creator God in Buddhism.
If I were to offer a point of criticism to Perry's approach it is that he does not include in his discussion Philosophical Religions such as Platonism/Neoplatonism and Panentheism. However, I understand that would have really complicated things and he clearly wanted to only focus on the main traditional religions.
Perry then finishes up with a very fresh and thought-provoking discussion on a fractal interpretation of religion. That may be the most profound chapter of the book.
The book is full of insight but should be taken as only an overview (albeit a very good one) and a hopeful beginning to more in-depth analysis and discussion. I look forward to reading more from Schmidt-Leukel and I hope more people can move from their exclusivist and inherently conflict-bound view of the world to a more peaceful and uniting view of the very same one reality we are all experiencing and are all a small part of.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2026
