Promoting Religious Plurism?! 

 

The very concept of a person choosing to follow and actively practice more then one religion at once is very taboo in many areas of the world. This very concept of religious plurism is presented through Pi in the story Life of Pi. Pi makes efforts to involves himself in the practice of Christianity, Hinduism, and Islamic. Please take a moment to view the video (or some parts of it) to your right, as it gives specific examples from the movie depicting this topic of religious plurism.  Especially, as some parts are funny: 0-10 second in "Cathlic-Hindou's who have to feel guilty before hundreds' of gods. Also, from 4:00-4:30 in the video, Pi's family is eating dinner at the table and his father makes a joke that if Pi follows three more religions he will spent the rest of his life on holiday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Religion is the final outcome that is formed from our own personal thoughts and internal faith and belief system.  It is created from how we perceive reality, our own life experiences, and the way we decide to handle situations we encounter. Additionally, it is also a reflection of one's culture and tradition. Therefore, it can easily be understood how there can be a plethora of distant religions in our world, but yet many similarities among them can still be found and practiced at the same time. This novel written by Yann Martel, Life of Pi, showcases many different religions throughout, as already mentioned in the themes section.

It highlights Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam all at the same time through the character Pi Patel. Pi identifies himself in these three different religions, and he even goes as far as practicing various rituals and prayer he learned from other characters in the story. However, many characters in the story argue that it is impossible for Pi to believe in and follow more then one religion. When asked in the film what religion he wanted to follow he requested to love God, and thus wanted to maintain all three at the same time.

 

This very action of Pi not willing to break and convey societal norms by choosing to still practice and follow three religions all at once is the very definition of religious pluralism, which is “the belief in two or more religious worldviews as being equally valid or acceptable. More than mere tolerance, religious pluralism accepts multiple paths to God or gods as a possibility and is usually contrasted with “exclusivism,” the idea that there is only one true religion or way to know God.  Read more at: http://bit.ly/1Gxgiak

 

The very concept of religious pluralism is highly controversial and is seen as taboo in many areas. Some countries and religions have even made it outright illegal to practice multiple religions at the same time.  Many people believe that a person should have a strong conviction on a certain religion and they cannot engage themselves in multiple religions because the teachings of one religion may be in conflict or hold untrue values and beliefs of others. For more information on this and religious freedoms feel free to visit: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/religious-pluralism/ and the following wikilink: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion_by_country 

 

 

Life of Pi is an explicit, unabashedly religious film. At almost every turn, there is reflection about religion and the pursuit of God; from Pi’s childhood experiences with the world’s major religious traditions, to longing for God to reveal himself while lost at sea, the film proudly advocates the richly religious substance that so much of the book is focused on. Even more impressive is the way that Lee seems to unite all these religious experiences and show each as rudimentary to Pi’s complete spiritual formation. In a Western culture, where our religions tend to be more exclusive of one another, this film offers a momentary breath of fresh air, in the form of a more Eastern inclusive approach. Scenes that capture this interfaith dialogue, such as when a young Pi prays, “Thank you, Krishna, for introducing me to Christ,” will undoubtedly anger some religiously devout audience members, but it also speaks to an ever-growing, global multicultural view of religious harmony that is slowly gaining momentum in the West. (33) 

 

 

Pi, a devout Muslim, prays five times a day. However, he is a Christian and a Hindu as well. In his childhood in Pondicherry, he espoused all three religions, at first unbeknownst to anyone except God. His secret is discovered one weekend when Pi is strolling through the town with his parents; they meet all three of the men (a Muslim, a Christian, and a Hindu) who, independently of each other, have taught Pi about God. These three "wise men" seem annoyed that Pi does not exclusively claim to be part of just one religion (pg 65). Soon, however, they forget about him and begin making ridiculously stereotypical accusations about each other's religion. The iman, the priest, and the punclit do agree on one issue: Pi cannot be a Muslim, a Christian, and a Hindu at the same time. He must choose one religion (pg 69). When confronted with this adult logic, Pi quotes Gandhi: '"All religions are true.' I just want to love God" (pg 69). His father, who, according to Pi, does not "have a religious bone in his body" (pg 65), admits, "I suppose that's what we're all trying to do, love God" (pg 69). Thus, the story promotes religious pluralism, specifically through Pi following Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam all at once. Source (34)