Back Cover - Developmental Religious Pluralism (DRP)

Why do so many people describe themselves as "spiritual but not religious"? Are there rational expressions of our world's great religious traditions that meet the demands of our modern and postmodern worldview? Is it possible for the interpretation, practice, and expression of religion to evolve so that it might meet the needs of humans at every level of psychological and spiritual intelligence? This book begins to shed light on these types of daunting questions.
Developmental Religious Pluralism, serves as a brief introduction to a larger, more in depth volume titled Integral Religious Studies. Like its longer companion, this book uncovers the ways in which academic inquiry might transcend the limitations of the standard approach to religion called religious pluralism. With both simplicity and vibrancy, this book uses a trans-diciplinary approach. Adding insight offered by the field developmental psychology, Developmental Religious Pluralism uncovers five developmental stages of religious orientation (magic, mythic, rational, pluralistic, and integral); two types (moderate and extreme), and provides examples of how each unfold within four traditions (Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism).
Despite the assumptions of theorist like Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx, religion has not faded from the world stage. In fact, to the contrary religious participation and engagement is on the rise worldwide. If we are to engage with religion in any sort of successful way, the approach we take must as comprehensive as possible, taking into consideration new insight from all fields of human knowledge. This book offers one way that such a new model can be implemented.