Is salvation found only through Christ (exclusivism), through Christ but available to others (inclusivism), or through many religions equally (pluralism)?
Component 03 Religious pluralism and theology: exclusivism, inclusivism (Rahner's anonymous Christians) and pluralism (Hick), and Christian theology of the relationship between religions and salvation.
An OCR A-Level Religious Studies Component 03 guide to religious pluralism and theology. Covers exclusivism, inclusivism (Rahner's anonymous Christians) and pluralism (Hick's pluralist hypothesis), and the Christian theology of salvation and the relationship between religions, with the AO2 evaluation the exam rewards.
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What this dot point is asking
OCR Component 03 examines the Christian theology of religions: how Christianity understands its relationship to other faiths and the question of salvation. Three positions are studied: exclusivism (salvation only through Christ), inclusivism (salvation through Christ but available beyond the Church, as in Rahner's "anonymous Christians"), and pluralism (the religions are equally valid, as in Hick's pluralist hypothesis). The exam rewards explaining each position precisely and then evaluating which best fits divine love, justice and the uniqueness of Christ.
The answer
Exclusivism
Inclusivism and Rahner's anonymous Christians
Pluralism and Hick's hypothesis
Comparing the positions
Examples in context
Try this
Q1. "Inclusivism is the most satisfactory Christian response to other religions." Discuss. [40 marks]
- What the marker wants. An AO2 essay weighing exclusivism (uniqueness of Christ), inclusivism (Rahner) and pluralism (Hick), judging which best holds together divine love, justice and the uniqueness of Christ. AO1 out of 25, AO2 out of 15.
Q2. Assess whether the idea of "anonymous Christians" is convincing. [40 marks]
- Cue. Rahner's anonymous Christians are saved by Christ without knowing him. Weigh whether this respects other faiths or patronises them by relabelling them, and judge.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR H573/03 2019 (style)20 marksAssess the view that only Christianity offers the means to salvation. (The full OCR tariff for this essay is 40 marks; the worked answer below is scaled to a 20-mark exemplar.)Show worked answer →
A 40-mark Component 03 essay on the six-level scheme (AO1 out of 25, AO2 out of 15). Explaining the three positions earns AO1; the higher levels reward judging exclusivism.
Explain (AO1). Exclusivism holds salvation comes only through explicit faith in Christ. Inclusivism (Rahner) holds Christ is the only saviour but his grace reaches sincere people of other faiths as "anonymous Christians". Pluralism (Hick) holds the great religions are equally valid responses to the same ultimate Reality.
Evaluate (AO2). For exclusivism: it takes seriously "no one comes to the Father except through me" and the uniqueness of Christ. Against: it seems to condemn the majority of humanity who never heard the gospel, which strains divine love; inclusivism and pluralism try to reconcile uniqueness or love with the reality of other faiths.
Judge. A top answer decides which position best fits divine love, justice and the uniqueness of Christ, and defends the verdict.
OCR H573/03 2022 (style)20 marksCritically assess Hick's pluralist hypothesis. (The full OCR tariff for this essay is 40 marks; the worked answer below is scaled to a 20-mark exemplar.)Show worked answer →
A levels-of-response essay testing AO1 understanding of pluralism and AO2 evaluation of it.
Explain. Hick argues the world religions are culturally conditioned responses to the same ultimate "Real", which is beyond full human description; using Kant, he distinguishes the Real-in-itself from the Real-as-experienced. No religion has the whole truth, so all are valid paths to salvation, understood as the transformation from self-centredness to Reality-centredness.
Evaluate. Strengths: it respects the sincerity and fruits of all faiths and fits divine love. Weaknesses: it relativises distinctive truth claims (the divinity of Christ, the Trinity) that believers hold essential, and the contradictory doctrines cannot all be true; exclusivists say it abandons the gospel.
Judge. A high-level answer weighs whether pluralism respects all faiths at the cost of their actual content, and reaches a justified conclusion.
Related dot points
- Component 03 Religious pluralism and society: Christian responses to a multi-faith society, religious freedom, the development of inter-faith dialogue, the use of scripture in dialogue, and Christianity in public life.
An OCR A-Level Religious Studies Component 03 guide to religious pluralism and society. Covers Christian responses to a multi-faith society, religious freedom, the development of inter-faith dialogue and scriptural reasoning, and Christianity in public life, with the AO2 evaluation the exam rewards.
- Component 03 The person of Jesus Christ: Jesus as teacher of wisdom, as liberator, and as the Son of God, the relationship of his divinity and humanity, and the significance of miracles and the resurrection.
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- Component 03 Knowledge of God's existence: natural knowledge of God (reason, the world, the sensus divinitatis of Calvin), revealed knowledge (faith, grace, scripture, Christ), and Barth's rejection of natural theology.
An OCR A-Level Religious Studies Component 03 guide to knowledge of God's existence. Covers natural knowledge of God through reason and the world and Calvin's sensus divinitatis, revealed knowledge through faith, grace, scripture and Jesus Christ, and Barth's rejection of natural theology, with the AO2 evaluation the exam rewards.
- Component 03 Death and the afterlife: heaven, hell and purgatory, particular and final judgement, the beatific vision, election (limited, unlimited and universalism), and the parable of the sheep and the goats, read literally or symbolically.
An OCR A-Level Religious Studies Component 03 guide to death and the afterlife. Covers heaven, hell and purgatory, particular and final judgement, the beatific vision, election (limited, unlimited and universalism) and the parable of the sheep and the goats, with the literal and symbolic readings and the AO2 evaluation the exam rewards.
- Component 03 Gender and theology: feminist theology and the critique of patriarchy, the reformist theology of Rosemary Radford Ruether and the post-Christian feminism of Mary Daly, and the implications for language about God.
An OCR A-Level Religious Studies Component 03 guide to gender and theology. Covers feminist theology and the critique of patriarchy, Rosemary Radford Ruether's reformist theology and critique of male images of God, Mary Daly's post-Christian feminism, and the implications for language about God, with the AO2 evaluation the exam rewards.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR A Level Religious Studies (H573) specification — OCR (2016)
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Religious Diversity (Pluralism) — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2019)