Common Ground: Islam, Christianity, and Religious Pluralism

Christian-Muslim interaction is a reality today in all corners of the globe. While many justly celebrate the commonality of these traditions, significant differences remain. If these religions cannot be easily separated, can we view them through a single but refracted lens? This is the approach Paul L. Heck takes in Common Ground--to undertake a study of religious pluralism as a theological and social reality, and to approach the two religions in tandem as part of a broader discussion on the nature of the good society. In this sense, beliefs, while unique, go beyond doctrines peculiar to a set of believers. To think about Christianity and Islam together is not to compare and contrast two "species" of religion. More profoundly, religious pluralism offers a prism through which a society as a whole--secular and religious alike--can consider its core beliefs and values. Christianity and Islam are not "identities" that mark of particular communities, but reference points that all can comprehend and discuss knowledgeably. This analysis of how Islam and Christianity understand theology, ethics, and politics--specifically, democracy and human rights--offers a way for that discussion to move forward.