Indifferentism

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Indifferentism is the belief held by some that no one religion or philosophy is superior to another.[1]

Political indifferentism relates to the policy of a

one true religion".[2]

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    Catholic teachings on indifferentism

    According to the Catholic Church, absolute indifferentism results in a willingness to concede any position.[2]

    Restricted indifferentism

    Catholicism also opposes as "indifferentism" a spectrum of pragmatic ideas that admit the necessity of religion because of its positive influence on human life, but which hold that all religions are equally true. A classic advocate of this theory is

    agnostics, on the grounds that it is impossible to attain certain religious knowledge, and that a God who has allowed such uncertainty will be pleased with whatever sincere form of worship he is offered.[2]

    From a Roman Catholic perspective, to say that all these

    irreconcilable beliefs are equally pleasing to God is to say that God has no preference for truth and to deny reason. The Roman Catholic Church argues that restricted indifferentism is no different from absolute indifferentism because while nominally acknowledging the utility of religion, to affirm that "all religions are equally good" ultimately means that religion is good for nothing.[2]

    Liberal or latitudinarian indifferentism

    The

    latitudinarians who do not claim any particular fidelity to the gospel and who maintain that all forms of worship may be equally effective for the purpose of building a closer union with God.[2]

    Since the

    Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity has also warned against the danger of doctrinal indifferentism within ecumenical dialogue.[4]

    Kant's absolute indifferentism

    Immanuel Kant argues that absolute indifferentism represents an extreme form of skepticism that argues that there is no rational ground for accepting any philosophical position.[5]

    See also

    References

    1. ^ "Indifferentism - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary". Merriam-webster.com. 2012-08-31. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
    2. ^ a b c d e f "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Religious Indifferentism". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
    3. ^ "indifferentism". Collins Dictionary.
    4. ^ Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism, paragraph 6, available via the Office of Divine Worship of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, published 25 March 1993, accessed 17 May 2022
    5. doi:10.2307/2182293

    Attribution

    Further reading

    • Connell, Francis J., C. SS. R., Freedom of Worship (Paulist Press, 1947)
    • Connell, Francis J., C. SS. R., Morals in Politics and Professions (Paulist Press, 1946)
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