A focus on getting along: respect, caring and diversity

Abstract

Drawing inspiration from Joseph T. O’Connell’s work on socio‑cultural integration, this paper connects the notion of ‘deep equality’ with two broad lessons that can be taken from O’Connell’s approach that pertain to the study of religious diversity in contemporary life. The first is the recognition of the amorphous nature of religious identity, and the second is the necessity to search for models of socio‑cultural integration in the face of difference. These lessons are valuable in providing an alternative discourse of diversity that moves away from problematisation to collaboration.