Participation

Essay prompt

Discuss and reflect upon the following extract from a chapter in the book The Myth of Christian Uniqueness. This is a volume published with John Hick and Paul Knitter as editors, and this specific quote comes from the chapter written by Paul Knitter himself. Knitter is a well-known theologian from the United States, famous for his work on religious pluralism and Buddhist-Christian dual belonging. He was also a close friend, and a collaborator of, John Hick. That is why we have chosen a quote from him in honour of the work of Hick. Read the quote and follow the instructions below to write your text. It could be written as a philosophical essay, or as a freer, personal reflection.

 “… instead of searching for “one God” or “one Ultimate” or a “common essence” or a “mystical center” within all religions, we  can recognize a shared locus of religious experience now available to all the religions of the world. Within the struggle for liberation and justice with and for the many different groups of oppressed persons, people from different traditions can experience together, and yet differently, that which grounds their resolves, inspires their hopes, and guides their actions to overcome injustice and to promote unity.  Alyosius  Pieris suggests that in our contemporary world, the struggle for liberation and for the transformation of this world provides a cross-cultural, cross-religious basis for defining and sharing religious experience among all religions:  “I submit that the religious instinct be defined as a revolutionary urge, a psycho-social impulse, to generate a new humanity …. It is this revolutionary impulse that constitutes, and therefore defines, the essence of homo religiosus.”

(Paul F. Knitter, ‘Toward a Liberation Theology of Religions’, in The Myth of Christian Uniqueness, eds. John Hick and Paul Knitter, London: SCM Limited, 1988 (First Published New York (Maryknoll): Orbis Books, 1987), page 186)

Instructions:

1. Read the assessment criteria and write a paper of no more than 1200 words.

2. Use the following support questions to help organizing your essay:

• Do you agree with what Knitter states in the quote? Justify your answer. You are expected to argue for your opinions and your conclusions.

• To what extent does the quote relate to your experiences in a multicultural and multireligious community at UWC?

• Do you think it’s beneficial to use Knitter’s approach to differences in religion in discussions about different beliefs in a UWC-context and beyond? If so, how?

4. To be able to meaningfully engage with Hick’s ideas you should do some research on (and make sure that you understand) the following concepts and ideas: 

   1. Liberation theology

   2. Knitter's view of religious pluralism and multiple belonging.

Although you are not expected to write a full-fledged philosophical analysis, you are expected to engage with the ideas of Hick and develop a response to his ideas, as well as reflecting on your own UWC-experience. 

5. Submit your entry via the Google Form on the site of the competition. Your submission needs to be in by the 29th of March, 2026. 

6. The prize money (250 USD) will have to be sent to an account that can receive it in the currency of USD. Please make sure that either you or your parents can receive it.

7. Read the Data Use Statement and make sure you are familiar with how we collect data for the purpose of the competition.

If you have any questions about the submission or the competition in general, you may contact Dan Silfwerin at d.silfwerin@uwcdilijan.am.

Please submit your entry using the following form:

• The winning essay will receive a prize of 250 USD and will also be published in the journal Interreligious Insight. This is a journal organized by the World Congress of Faiths and is edited by Revd Canon Dr Alan Race.

• Essays that stand out from the rest -because of creativity, original examples, good writing, etc- will receive an honorary mention and will also be published in the journal Interreligious Insight.

We know that life as an IB student can be quite busy and you might forget about this competition, so we invite you to fill in our Interest Form, which allows us to generate a mailing list to send you reminders about the competition, resources and also to notify you of any Q&A session with the competition's organisers.