Interfaith studies experts say diversity and pluralism of religions and ethnicities are part of “God’s sacred plan” for humanity, and should therefore be nurtured and promoted. They also argue that religious literacy needs to be promoted, especially because of the frequent politicization of religion and ethnicity for electoral politics.
Dicky Sofjan, Ph.D., teaches interfaith studies at the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), which is a collaboration between Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University and Duta Wacana Christian University based at the Graduate School, UGM. A lecturer and researcher who often travels the world and has various positions in international institutions that promote tolerance and peace between human beings, he said that he has conducted a lot of research on his field of interest.
“I have studied and researched about religion for a long time, and frankly I see that diversity is not just a social reality or social fact, but indeed part and parcel of the Divine Plan and Will of Allah. This means that all diversity and pluralism in religion and ethnicity are part of God’s holy plan for mankind,” he said.
This article was taken from the original article published on Voice of America (VoA)
