Swamiji attended the World Parliament of Religions at Chicago in 1893 as a true representative of his country and religion…Through his speeches at Chicago, and his subsequent work in America and England, [he] showed the universal relevance and significance of India’s ancient philosophy and spiritual culture in solving many of the problems associated with modern living’.
—Shri Pranab Mukherjee, The President of India


Based on the ideas propagated by Swami Vivekananda, this book presents a brief survey of various approaches to religion and offers different perspectives of religious diversity. Scholars and philosophers of many religious traditions examine the social and cultural issues that lie at the interstices of this religious diversity.


The volume throws light on several mega trends—knowledge revolution, a new kind of humanism stressing on the rights of underprivileged people, equality of gender, and protection against all forms of exploitation, injustice along with the awareness toward environmental concerns, as well as spiritual revolution—all characteristics of a new age. The contributors to this volume have devoted themselves to studying specific facets of this vast and intricate theme over many years of their respective professional careers. The interview with HH Dalai Lama, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Karan Singh and Reverend Mpho Tutu forms the key feature of this book.


The volume will appeal to those interested in Philosophy, Religion, History, Culture and Asian Studies.

Introduction
I: TEACHINGS AND TRADITIONS
Anindita N Balslev Thoughts that Transform the Religious Mindscape: A Tribute to Swami Vivekananda Jeffery D Long Diversity as the Nature of Reality: A Jain-informed Approach to the Variety of Worldviews Mohinder Singh Sikhism: Transcendental and Interfaith Message Swami Bhajanananda Ramakrishna Movement’s Approach to Religious Diversity Rabbi Ezekiel Isaac Malekar Globalization, Judaism and Its Diversity Shernaz Cama Sacred Spaces: Interdependence, Not Dissension A K Merchant Diversity of Religious Traditions—A Perspective from Baha’i Faith Karan Singh Vedanta in the Nuclear Age
II: SOME ISSUES IN THE CONTEXT OF RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY
Steve Killelea Studying and Creating Peace John A Teske The Emotional Psychology of Religious Diversity Whitney A Bauman Hybridity in Meaning-making Practices: Planetary Values for a Multiperspectival Context Santiago Zabala Weak Faith: How to Manage Religious Diversity without Dissent Zainal Abidin Bagir Democracy, Pluralism and Conservative Religion Mushirul Hasan An Intellectual Catastrophe of the First Order Steven I Wilkinson Conflict and Violence in the Name of Religion Annakutty V Kurian-Findeis Interfaith Relations in the Sociocultural Context of Kerala Makarand Paranjape Swami Vivekananda and Indian Secularism
III: CONVERSATIONS WITH EMINENT PERSONALITIES
Anindita N Balslev in conversation His Holiness Dalai Lama, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Dr Karan Singh and Reverend Mpho Tutu: The Four Clusters of Questions About Cross Cultural Conversation About Indian Council for Cultural Relations