Many paths to one God: revisiting ecumenism in the era of pluralism in Botswana

Abstract

In this paper we seek to re-examine ecumenism in the phase of religious pluralism in Botswana. We acknowledge that religious diversity, whether it is within one religion or many, is often characterized by conflict borne from intolerance of some kind or other. It is not surprising therefore, that ecumenism is often an uphill task in any religious pluralistic society. In this paper we wish to acknowledge that Botswana has not experienced any violence in the name of religion. Although there are many religions existing in the country including African Traditional Religions (ATR), Christianity, Islam and Hinduism just to mention a few, these have co-existed peacefully up to date. Therefore as our title suggests, it is not a farfetched idea to conclude that there are many paths to one God.