Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Orthodoxy and Pluralism

Is a pluralistic Orthodoxy possible, or do you think any attempts at real pluralism will lead to further denominationalism, with "pluralistic orthodoxy" joining the ranks of Open Orthodoxy, Centrist Orthodoxy, Ultra-Orthodoxy, Agudah Orthodoxy, Yeshivish Orthodoxy, Hasidic Orthodoxy, Chabad Orthodoxy, Zionistic Orthodoxy, Messianic Orthodoxy (Kahanism/Gush Emunim type - not J4J), and the billion other Orthodox groups.

Yikes. I didn't even realize we were that splintered. Perhaps we need intra-Orthodox pluralism before Jewish pluralism? And given the results of the Eternal Jewish Family conference, we're certainly not going in that direction. So, what's your take? Can Orthodoxy be pluralistic, or would such an effort be totally counterproductive and devolve into another branch of Orthodoxy?