Pluralism is the best perspective to adopt in the analysis of the parable of the elephant and six blind men. Pluralism advocates for the idea that many groups coexist by accepting and respecting other people’s convictions and beliefs for the purposes of avoiding conflicts in society. As much as pluralism has been used mostly in political systems, it is also applicable to religious settings. From a pluralist point of view, God can be considered the elephant, while the six blind men are his believers. Each of the six men has individual perspective on how an elephant appears ( Peacecorps.gov, 2019) . They are all convinced that their view on the image of God is the correct representation of God.
Principally, the parable of the elephant and the six blind men depicts how people think of matters regarding religion. Each individual may have a unique stance on religion and the nature of God. For instance, if every human being were to openly convey and declare their deepest perceptions on religious matters, there would be disparities in terms of beliefs and convictions ( Wentz, 2019) . Usually, children tend to follow and practice the religious doctrine that is deemed acceptable at a familial level. After growing up to adult age, some are convinced that what they believed as children was an erroneous and misleading doctrine; hence, such individuals opt to abandon their childhood beliefs and practices. Others hold on to the beliefs and practices because they deem it to be a religion that resonated with their perceptions. The act of abandoning or sticking to childhood religious practices and beliefs depends on how people think of religion and God ( Phan & Ray, 2014) . Metaphorically, the process of thinking about God and coming up with personal convictions about his nature can be likened to the act of the six blind men touching the elephant.
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The parable of the elephant and the six blind men epitomizes religious pluralism by demonstrating that just as the blind men perceived the elephant, there is a no one-fit all perception of God and religion. In most cases, personal convictions are intuitive, and although they might not be correct, they are less likely to lead individuals to harm. From that perspective, pluralism enhances the coexistence of people with different religious beliefs by accepting that everyone’s perspective on religion is justified, and no one religion or Christian denomination is more accurate in conveying the commands of God than the other ( Wentz, 2019) . For instance, Christians and Muslims have different religious views, but their different perspectives on religious matters converge on the ideation that there is one Supreme Being.
Religious pluralism is based on the idea that all religious beliefs converge at some point; the existence of a supreme deity. Phan and Ray (2014) term this view as pluralistic in light of the notion that all roads lead to the mountain. However, there are often some issues with the religious pluralism on the grounds that a religious pluralist telling the parable indicates that everyone is blind. Their arguments somehow tend to suggest that all people’s religious views are blind except theirs. By insinuating that all religious views are blind, a degree of bias is presented that can render the argument fallacious. According to Wentz (2019) , religious pluralists tend to exempt themselves from the blind, suggesting that they do not have spiritual blindness. Such arguments are likely to compromise the credibility of religious pluralism. However, there are many schools of thought that demonstrate the believability and applicability of religious pluralism. For instance, the existence of people with different religious backgrounds in many social settings is a perfect example of the application of religious pluralism in real life.
References
Peacecorps.gov (2019). The Blind Men and the Elephant. Retrieved 30 November 2019, from https://www.peacecorps.gov/educators/resources/story-blind-men-and-elephant/
Phan, P. C., & Ray, J. (2014). Understanding Religious Pluralism: Perspectives from Religious Studies and Theology . Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications.
Wentz, R. (2019). Culture of Religious Pluralism . S.l.: Routledge.
