Monotheism and Tolerance

The contemporary values of tolerance and pluralism are particularly acute within and for inter-religious interaction between the three Abrahamic-monotheistic religions. However, if monotheistic religions are ever to overcome their antagonistic tensions towards the Other, then critical measures 'must originate and find their basis within these traditions themselves.' Erlewine (Illinois Wesleyan Univ.) indicates that John Hick's and Jurgen Habermas's program--'mutual respect and recognition between citizens, between self and Other,' have been considered and found wanting. As a consequence, traditionalist Jewish and Christian theologians have elaborated political theologies that prioritize revelation while rejecting the Kantian-Enlightenment legacy as filtered through Hick and Habermas. Erlewine articulates his thesis of the religion of reason trajectory, which fuses the integrity of monotheism with the intellectual sustainability of the Enlightenment. The religio-philosophical tradition that he traces, derived from Moses Mendelssohn, Immanuel Kant, and Hermann Cohen, seeks to ameliorate monotheistic intolerance without vitiating the structure of Judaism and Christianity. This religion of reason trajectory engages the three Abrahamic monotheisms, yet is deeply rooted in European philosophy and the Enlightenment. Whether the religion of reason extends to Islam is outside the purview of this book. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and above. -- ChoiceG. M. Smith, Delaware County Community College, October 2010 "An important corrective to recent discussions of the relation between monotheism and tolerance." -Leora Batnitzky, Princeton University