Religious Diversity, Plurality and Pluralism: Towards an Analytical Grid

The aim of this chapter is to provide a survey and to suggest an analytical grid, concerning the issue of diversity in religious dynamics . We start with a discussion of a terminological genealogy linked to the concept of “super-diversity”. This was proposed by Vertovec and adopted by a great number of scholars from different fields, who have approached to the concept with a variegated range of attitudes, from an automatic acceptance to severe criticism. Then we explore the transfer of this idea in religious domains, through the concept of religious super-diversity. Following, we examine another terminological stream, namely the use of the concept of “new religious pluralism” and, more generally, the semantic sphere covered by the term pluralism. Subsequently we tentatively propose a new typology based on three key terms: diversity, plurality, pluralism. After briefly testing its possible relevance on some historical fields, we offer a slightly modified version of the grid in order to capture the main dynamics in the contemporary religious field, mobilizing the prefix “hyper” to stress the enormous and multi-layered amount of religious diversity, and the complexity of the mechanisms trying to channel it. In addition to offering a possible tool for linguistic and conceptual scrutiny, this tripartite typology can be useful for analyzing - from historical, anthropological and sociological points of view - the different levels and scales of diversity, focusing on both inter and intra religious relationships.