From Passive Tolerance to Flourishing Community: Why We Need Covenantal Pluralism

Societies around the world are struggling with deep conflict due to religious polarization. Given the alarming prevalence of religious tension, there’s a need for multi-faith approaches that move beyond arms-length “tolerance” and segregated coexistence. As part of the annual David L. Franz lecture series, Gordon College’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Center for Faith and Inquiry invited Dr. Dennis Hoover, editor in chief of The Review of Faith & International Affairs, to discuss the concept of covenantal pluralism and how we can manage religious diversity in our communities.  

What is Covenantal Pluralism? 

Covenantal pluralism is an approach that navigates a middle ground between fundamentalism––the attempt to restore moral and religious certainty through social and political means––and relativism––the position of moral equivalence, indifference and non-judgementalism. 

Too often the word “pluralism” is equated with treating all truth claims as equally valid, generating a passive posture of tolerance and a lack of principled engagement across lines of deep difference. While Hoover acknowledges tolerance is an essential starting point, he believes it creates the risk of people growing too comfortable—too disconnected and disengaged. Simple tolerance doesn’t challenge neighbors to commune, congregate or collaborate with one another in meaningful ways. A minimalist tolerance does not really come to terms with the full breadth of diversity in a free society.  

“A pluralism that is genuinely plural will need to be more inclusive of the actual extent of religious diversity: conservative to liberal, evangelical to mainline, Buddhist to Bahá’í, Muslim to Mormon . . . and on and on.”  

In this refocusing Hoover suggests that the modifier “covenantal” points us toward the kind of pluralism our world needs today: “By covenantal pluralism I mean a relational, nonrelativistic framework for dealing with deep diversity of religions and worldviews. . . A pluralism that is covenantal. . . entails a deeper sense of moral solemnity and significance because a covenant endures beyond specific conflicts.” 

Covenantal Pluralism in Community 

Hoover explained that covenantal pluralism is “loving your neighbor as yourself, even when that neighbor has irreconcilable theological differences with you.” To achieve covenantal pluralism personally and within our communities, there are three essential components.  

First, there must be freedom of religion and equal treatment of beliefs. Hoover shared that while “codifying legal protections for religious freedom is vitally important, it’s not the same as achieving an environment of covenantal pluralism.” One religion cannot be privileged over another. Secularism cannot be favored. There must be equal treatment and not only as mandated by law. 

Next, there must be religious literacy, “. . . a dynamic interrelationship between understanding oneself; understanding the religious other; and understanding real-world, multifaith contexts and opportunities for collaboration.” This literacy is not simply studying our neighbors’ religions academically, but instead personally pursuing a relational understanding of lived religions, cultural influences and their impact on our ourselves and our neighbors.  

And finally, it requires the embodiment of virtue, an embracing of qualities like humility, empathy, patience and courage. Community members must commit to respecting one another and recognizing the human dignity of every individual—regardless of personal and religious beliefs. 

When those three conditions align, covenantal pluralism gives religious communities space to flourish in a healthy, understanding and respectful way. “Put simply, an environment of covenantal pluralism is one where governments protect religious freedom equally for all, and religious individuals and groups reliably and voluntarily choose to exercise their freedom responsibly,” said Hoover. 

Covenantal Pluralism in Action   

To uncover covenantal pluralism success stories, Hoover used the Pew Research Center’s annual study of restrictions on religion. The study applies two measurements to 198 countries and territories: the Government Restrictions Index (GRI), which looks at religious restrictions put in place by governments, and the Social Hostilities Index (SHI), which considers hostile attitudes and actions of individuals and social groups.  

Hoover argued that prospects for covenantal pluralism are likely to be highest in countries that combine a low-to-moderate GRI ranking with a low-to-moderate SHI ranking. His analysis of Pew’s most recent data (2022) identified over 90 countries and territories from a wide range of global regions, including some Muslim-majority countries. 

“There are a lot of countries listed, which means we should not imagine that it’s somehow impossible to combine low restrictions on religious freedom with a social climate that is low in social hostilities. . . All of these countries are managing to do it.” 

Moving Towards Unity 

Hoover is confident his findings add to growing evidence that religious freedom and social peace can thrive together around the world: “The process of covenantal pluralism ultimately promises progress towards freedom, fairness and flourishing for all.”   

To learn more, watch Hoover’s full lecture by visiting Gordon’s YouTube channel.  

Dr. Dennis Hoover is the editor in chief of The Review of Faith & International Affairs, a senior fellow at the Institute for Global Engagement and a senior fellow at Love Your Neighbor Community. He’s published extensively on issues of religion, politics and peacebuilding, and he served as an advisor to the Templeton Religion Trust’s Covenantal Pluralism Initiative.