Ultimate reality is often characterized in terms of what are thought to be a variety of incompatible concepts, like God, Dao, Brahman, śūnyatā, etc. In his new book, Religious Pluralism: Towards a Comparative Metaphysics of Religion, Matthew S. LoPresti suggests that shifting to a process understanding of the world allows us to engage multiple religious ultimates alongside diverse religious practices and programs for salvation.

In this event, LoPresti will share key ideas from his book to describe a “meta-theology” of world religions, arguing that both Western and non-Western traditions are helpful. He’ll draw from John B. Cobb’s Whiteheadian “deep religious pluralism” as well as South Asian philosophy, Western analytic philosophy, and the writings of Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI).

Matthew S. LoPresti, PhD (University of Hawai‘i at Manoa) is Chair of the Asian Studies Program at Hawai‘i Pacific University and has been teaching philosophy since 1999. While at HPU (since 2004) he has expanded his teaching to include courses in religious studies and the inter-disciplinary humanities. He is currently developing a course on Yoga Philosophy.

A specialist in South Asian and Comparative Philosophy as well as Philosophy of Religion, his primary area of research has been in developing a metaphysical basis for a genuine religious pluralism. He has published several articles in comparative philosophy and philosophy of religion and serves as a referee for Comparative Philosophy.