Plurality of Religions and Searching for Criteria of Rightfulness

Plurality of religion and the variation of vastly different religious attitudes always prompt us to ask questions about the criteria for their rightfulness. Followers of each religion have given different answers to this question as per their religion's historical features or their being among the Revealed or non-Revealed religions. Using rational, inductive, and historical methods and content analysis, this research has concentrated on different criteria for the assessment of the rightfulness of religions. These criteria include: 1. Belief in God, 2. Divinity, 3. Unity versus polytheism, 4. Belief in the Hereafter, 5. Epistemic coherence and more adaptation to human rationality, 6. Universality in doctrines and efficiency in providing meaning for human life, 7. Doctrine-centeredness instead of prophet-centeredness, 8. Non-distortion of Holy Scriptures, and 9. Correction of prior religions. The longitudinal and latitudinal relations of these criteria would enable us to draw the conclusion that the Revealed religions enjoy more rightfulness; and in turn, the one among them that is undistorted or less distorted, enjoys more coherent and rational beliefs, and plays a more effective role in the meaning of life and ethics of the faithful is more rightful. Meanwhile, religious rightfulness is gradational and thus most of religious traditions, especially the Revealed Religions, have it. However, they do not enjoy it equally; rather, the more noticeable presence the above criteria have in a religious tradition, the higher gradational and hierarchical rank that religion can enjoy.