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Intercultural Dialogue (3) - the plurality of political attitudes towards sphere of unknown things
Germà PELAYO
Sunday, November 10, 2002 5:54 PM
ºººAbstract: laicism and pancasila are two solutions that states have invented
in order to deal with religious diversity, the first one, gives to the
materialism a superior worth than those of religions, by playing a supposed
neutral role. The second give to the diverse religions the label of religions of
the state. Having in mind what religions and materialism have in common, we look
for a world political representation of all human diverse beliefs ººº
Which political representation for religious diversity? Two examples
In France, the laicism is a * modern tradition * that was created to deal with
the right of freedom, concretely freedom and plurality of religions, in the
national political community. Nobody can interfere in beliefs of the others and
in order to assure this, a common and so-called neutral belief is imposed, which
is based on a materialist conception of the world. The religions are confined to
the individual sphere. It should not be forget that in France, the Republican
system of values use to deny any political status to anything in the grade scale
between the individual and the state.
This is caused by, and is influencing to, a very high atheism in that country.
The spiritual dimension doesn't make sense in the contemporary French culture,
at last not at the same level that the economic, political, ecological,
scientifical… dimensions. However, last years have seen the reintroduction of
religious issues in public schools, as religion is being considered like a part
of the general culture.
In Indonesia, another solution has been invented in order to deal with religious
diversity. It is called Pancasila. Pancasila gives to the five main religions of
the country the rang of religions of the State. Perhaps there are similar
experiences in other countries, with other names, that I ignore. What is
important for us here about pancasila is the idea, while I’m not sure that the
experience have been successful. Inner conflicts having place in some islands of
Indonesia don't have a religious origin, but they are often taking place among
communities of different religions. That means that pancasila has not been
useful to help in it, or not enough.
What have religions and materialism in common?
How to deal with religious diversity, also including atheism, at the global
level? A European person would like religion to be absent, as it is in European
countries, of a World Parliament. Muslim societies can consider a nonsense an
Islam relegated to the individual sphere, as religion is for them, above all, a
social, collective and therefore political fact. So in their point of view the
religious dimension must be present at a global scale because it is so important
or even more than the other dimensions. Thus, a solution like pancasila would
be, from that perspective, more appropriate.
Is there possible the dialogue between atheists and believers? Do they have
something in common atheism and spirituality? I say yes, they have in common to
be both human answers and attitudes facing the sphere of unknown. The atheistic
denial , the scientist's skeptical exploration, the environmentalist's emotion,
the inspiration of the artists, the reflexive adhesion of some religions and
religious currents, the frenetic submission of other... all there are human
attitudes, and some of them better than the others, facing a common sphere, the
sphere of all things that reason ignores, that is to say, all things being
outside of a way of human knowledge that allows the human beings to manipulate
consciously their environment consciously.
This sphere exists. That is to say, some place it in the mind, and some also
further on. Even the scientists, when refuting the idea that a theory considered
at present as the *truth*, it could be invalidate in the future by another that
is currently unknown (that is to say that *exists* in that mentioned sphere),
they are contradicting with its own form of reasoning.
And only for having existence, this sphere called by some symbolic and by some
other spiritual, it should to be included among the values to keep in mind for a
political community at a global scale. It must be named by a real neutral name,
that I have not still been able to find it. It must be at the base of a new
atheist-religious pancasila, that is to say, a global *political tool* dealing
with the diversity of religious or not religious attitudes, concerning this
unknown sphere. *Not* to be compared with any kind of new syncretistic religion
or ideological doctrine that would pretend after to be superior as others for
being more universal, more open, etc. There are yet too many of these.
Just a political tool for to represent at a global scale all the different
beliefs, concerning what we call god, cosmos, nature, Earth, the same humanity,
a set of different names or entities, or even anyone. A political way of
representing the human need to connect with all that cannot be connected in
another way. Perhaps we can use the words of things that motive all of us in a
deep way and that reason ignores: love?, communion?, fraternity?, perhaps just
to look for it a name were an impossible task and will we would must accept to
call it in different ways, even being the same thing, as long as it works, as
long as it could be a common place where to represent the different ways that
cultures have offered to us in order to help us to feel better and give a sense
for our personal and collective existences and for Life in general.
WP21 Alliance Forum on a World Parliament for the 21st Century
E-mail : world-parl@forums.alliance21.org
Fax 1 717 264 5036
Information, inscriptions, désinscriptions: germa@alliance21.org
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