Rav Soloveitchik on Religious Pluralism

"The fourth question remains to be considered. Should we perhaps relinquish our rights as a religious group in this matter because of complications which might arise on the level of public relations? The answer is definitely in the negative. Let me elaborate this thesis. The Jewish religion has never monopolized the media of salvation nor has it identified itself with the intolerant doctrine of religious catholicity. In other words, it never maintained that our faith is destined to become universal in order to save mankind from damnation. Our prophets and scholars have taught that all men who live in accordance with Divine moral standards will share in the transcendental summum bonum which was promised to God-fearing and God-loving people - hasidei umot ha-olam yesh lahem helek le-olam ha-ba.

However, this tolerant philosophy of transcendental universalism does not exclude the specific awareness of the Jews of the supremacy of their faith over all others. As a matter of fact, the act of appraising the worth of one's particular religious experience on the highest axiological level constitutes the very essence of the transcendental performance. The religious consciousness, by its very nature, is endowed with a charismatic quality. The homo religiosus is convinced that his unique relationship with God is the noblest and finest, and he is ready to bring the supreme sacrifice for the preservation of his religious identity. The feeling of axiological equality of all faiths as a component of the individual religious experience is a contradicto in objecto. Religious tolerance asserts itself in the knowledge of the existence of a variety and plurality of God-experiences and in the recognition that each individual is entitled to evaluate his great unique performance as the most redeeming and uplifting one. Tolerance has never demanded of the religious personage to eliminate the sense of axiological centrality from his feelings. This is exactly the standpoint of the Halakhah which maintains that, while it is forbidden to impose our faith upon others by force, it is our sacred duty to defend our convictions against any onslaught, even at the expense of our very lives."

Soloveitchik, Rabbi Joseph B. Community, Covenant, and Commitment: Selected Letters and Communications of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. (ed.: Nathaniel Helfgot), Jersey City: Published for the Toras HoRav Foundation by Ktav Pub. House, 2005. pp.21-22