Tool
Identifying an Ethic of Pluralism
Effective pluralism leaders (people who lead others in fostering cooperation across differences) are able to articulate their Ethic of Pluralism. An Ethic of Pluralism is an articulation of how your values, belief systems, worldview, and/or experiences motivate you to work together with others across differences.
What’s an Ethic of Pluralism, and why is it important?
Effective pluralism leaders (people who lead others in fostering cooperation across differences) are able to articulate their Ethic of Pluralism.
An Ethic of Pluralism is an articulation of how your values, belief systems, worldview, and/or experiences motivate you to work together with others across differences.
Being able to articulate an Ethic of Pluralism is an essential skill for pluralism builders. People often carry an implicit assumption that strong values and unique perspectives get in the way of pluralism. In reality, many people building cooperation across differences are committed to working across differences because of the unique identities and worldviews that shape and ground them, not in spite of them.
Identifying and articulating an Ethic of Pluralism is important because it empowers you to:
- Position pluralism positively to your community
- Being able to articulate how your pluralism work is compatible with deeply held values allows you to position pluralism as positive and accessible. People become less concerned that the goal of pluralism is to change their beliefs and more assured that cooperation across difference is compatible with their beliefs when you can explain how your core values align with pluralism.
- Better understand your own values
- One less-discussed aspect of pluralism is that encountering difference often strengthens your own sense of your identity and values. Learning about others’ worldviews, values, and perspectives often illuminates the things that make our own perspectives unique.
- Inspire and mobilize others
- Listening to how other people’s traditions and values motivate them to build pluralism can be incredibly inspiring. Being able to articulate your Ethic of Pluralism allows you to add your voice to the chorus and motivate others.
Examples
Here are some examples of different individuals’ articulations of their Ethics of Pluralism:
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel believes that God wants a diverse set of interactions. That Pluralism is something we should aspire to. And he grounds it in a variety of classical sources, one of which is a Talmudic story about rabbis who are engaged in a debate. And at a certain moment a voice calls out from the heavens and says both these and these are the words of the living God. And that, we are to understand is an articulation of the fact that each and every one of us has contributions to make, and on the other hand, none of us has a grasp on truth in its totality.
– Rabbi Or Rose
The Humanist case for pluralism is found at the center of my worldview: in the position that it’s unlikely that any divine or supernatural forces will intervene in human affairs to solve our problems. If this is so, it is ultimately up to human beings to address human problems. Thus, we have to work together: atheist and theist, Muslim and Christian, Buddhist and Jew, Humanist and Hindu. This conviction—that human beings can and should work to improve the world—can unite atheists in common cause with people of all faiths and beliefs.
– Chaplain Chris Stedman
It is… shaped and weathered by encounters with others: my agnostic best friend from middle school, my Jewish “faith-sister” in college, and my Hindu co-worker are just a few of the people who have guided me in my faith formation, and served alongside me at community projects and advocacy campaigns. They caused me to look inward and better understand myself. Why do I serve? What do I believe about the importance of justice? And they showed me the impact we can make on our world through mutual action.
– Usra Ghazi
Exercise: Surface and Articulate your Ethic of Pluralism
Effective pluralism leaders 1) reflect on how their deeply held values motivate them to build cooperation across difference, and 2) work on being able to articulate for others the connection between their values and their pluralism building.
Surface Your Ethic of Pluralism. Complete the following journaling exercise alone or with others to think more about your own Ethic of Pluralism.
You can also lead this journaling exercise as a part of a group activity or ask people to complete it on their own to share later. Doing so is a great way to learn about other’s deeply held values, belief systems, and formative experiences.
Create a grid like the one you see below. First, in the “Influence” column, list your most important influences. These might include a religious or non-religious tradition, a geographical location or places you’ve lived, your profession or calling, a cultural group to which you belong, or your family, for example.
Next, go down the list of your influences and think about each influence through the lens of each of the other columns. The point is not to fill every blank. This is just a way of thinking about what’s been influential to commitment to pluralism and why. Here’s an example of what this might look like:
Articulate Your Ethic of Pluralism. After you’ve surfaced the things that inspire you to build pluralism, practice writing or saying a few sentences about how your values and experiences inspire you to foster cooperation across differences. You do not have to touch on each influence uncovered in your journaling exercise. The goal is to be able to speak confidently about how your commitment to building cooperation across differences is informed by your core values.
Keep in mind that your Ethic of Pluralism is something that you’ll continue to hone over time. You can practice articulating it by acknowledging the important values and influences that motivate you whenever you can, taking the time to tell people why you do pluralism work, and asking others about the influences that call them to pluralism.
Related Resources
Whether you’re a learner, an educator, or a practitioner, Interfaith America offers a suite of educational resources to help you realize your goals. Use our Learning & Action Bridge to find opportunities based on your role.
