George Lindbeck as a Potential Religious Pluralist

Interreligious dialogue and conversion are two intriguing components in understanding religion. A reading of George Lindbeck constitutes the starting point for a discussion in this paper. The dominant reading of Lindbeck is that he claims that traditions absorb the world. According to this reading of Lindbeck, religious traditions are isolated, and yet the one with the best capacity to assimilate others’ concerns is the strongest, implying what is often called exclusivism. The contention of this article is that a radically different reading of Lindbeck is possible. Hence, it is not primarily about questioning Lindbeck, but about bringing forth another side of his texts. If grammar, framework and structure, and not propositional first-order ontological contents, take first place, dialogue and conversion may be seen differently. Questions must be raised though. Is it not true that there are always some contents and some substance—even if hidden and masked?