In a world that is growing ever closer together, the question also arises as to whether the many different religions in the common world have a common anthropological basis. What connects the religions of the world with each other in the midst of all their diversity? Is there an anthropological theory of the pluralism of religions? And what would such a theory have to look like in which the different religions are conceptually linked?
The lecture explores this question by first (1) concentrating on the diversity of religions, which are an important part of cultures. After this praise of religious plurality, the lecture then shows (2) what a theory of religious pluralism cannot look like. Again using the example of religion, it is then explained (3) how religion and religious diversity are to be understood when they are considered from a human and thus anthropological point of view. A conception is then presented (4) by the German philosopher and theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher, showing how religious diversity, the plurality of religions, can be understood conceptually on the basis of common anthropological insights.