In my previous post (“The Ecumenical Monoculture is Exclusive Part 1”) I closed with the following statement: “Within the monoculture all faiths, all truth claims, and all gods are equally viable so long as they do not claim superiority over another faith, truth claim, or god. Do not be fooled by the false tolerance and false inclusivism offered by the ecumenical monoculture. Postmodernism is an exclusive truth claim that is not only in direct conflict with every other exclusive truth claim but itself as well.” I want to dissect the false tolerance and false inclusivism offered by the ecumenical monoculture so you can see it for what it really is, intolerant. The purpose of this is not to argue against intolerance. Postmodern thought, however, claims to be the supreme form of tolerance, in our age, and yet it is venomously intolerant. The exclusivity of the postmodern truth claim will be examined in two specific arenas; first through its intolerance of other exclusive truth claims and secondly through its inherent intolerance of self.

The ecumenical monoculture is a pantheistic culture which tolerates all gods whose existence fits within the postmodern truth claim. Meaning that “truth [about god] is a fabrication of the human mind; everyone determines their own reality[and god]; and therefore no one has the truth [about god].” Therefore, within the framework of situated knowledge, god is situated within the group, or individual, who(whom) constructed it. Within the ecumenical monoculture there can be no exclusive deity, THIS IS AN EXCLUSIVE CLAIM. This is the tolerant and inclusive claim that the ecumenical monoculture is making. In essence they are claiming that “You can worship and serve any god you choose as long as your god does not claim superiority over anyone elses god.” The ecumenical monoculture will not tolerate an exclusive deity. Within the ecumenical monoculture god is a mere construct of the human mind, you literally create your god. THIS IS AN EXCLUSIVE CLAIM. Any religion that claims exclusivity or claims to worship the single ultimate god cannot be tolerated by the monoculture. To quote the article by Shanafelt, “the limit of tolerance is intolerance (1).” The monoculture cannot tolerate an exclusive, supreme, or single god. I want to show you why postmodernism and the ecumenical monoculture should not tolerate any exclusive religion. The following posts on the exclusivity of the monoculture will deal with this issue.

(1) Shanafelt, R. (2002). Idols of Our Tribes? Relativism, Truth and Falsity in Ethnographic Fieldwork and Cross-cultural Interaction. Critique of Anthropology, Volume 22, Issue 1, 7-29.