Pluralism not secularism

“Pluralism means that all people have a place at the table. Its not a secular table, it is a pluralistic table, and therefore no one party can claim absolute control of the table.” Unfortunately Australian governments are consciously pursuing an explicitly secularist table. 

Dr Geoff Tunnicliffe’s quote about the pluralist table continues (in AEA’s Working Together magazine, 2008 isue 3): “Intolerance is shown by excluding some people from the table whom they feel don’t share the secularist perspective.” 

But there’s a very good reason to have religious people at the table: 

“Often times governments view things with a very secular mindset, but if we are dealing with a radical fundamentalist religious worldview, then we simply cannot dialogue around that from a secular worldview. There has got to be a different approach.”

[Geoff Tunnicliffe] urged that governments should recognise Christians and people of other faiths as partners in mediation and conflict resolution. “Because our worldview is shaped by our biblical understanding and shaped by our faith, it provides the perfect platform to interact with people who also act out of their faith.”

And speaking of public service, Geoff Tunnicliffe also says:

You can’t serve someone you don’t understand.

You can’t understand others until you have learned from them.

You can’t learn important info from someone until there is trust in the relationship.

To build trust, others must know that you accept and value them as people.

Before you can communicate acceptance, people must experience your openness – your ability to welcome them into your presence.

Openness is being able to step out of your comfort-zone to initiate and sustain relationships in a world of cultural differences. 

Isn’t that great sense!

And who is doing it? I can see a bunch of people around my neighborhood who do that.

But I also see secularists like Julia Gillard choosing an intolerant secularist path of government, and its hampering their public service. Can’t we find a more productive way to live in a pluralistic society?