Frithjof Schuon on The Tanscendent Unity of Religions

[John Zeger]

Frithjof Schuon was recognized as one of the foremost authorities on
comparative religion in the twentieth century. In his book The
Transcendent Unity of Religions (1984), Schuon states that religions
differ in their outward manifestation but are alike in their inner
message and that both their exoteric (outer) and esoteric (inner)
aspects are necessary although the former freqently causes problems.
That is because those who are committed solely to the exoteric
expression of a religion often become dogmatic in claiming that their
religion is the sole legitimate path to the truth and deny that other
religions are also legitimate paths setting the stage for ignorance and
conflict. However, Schuon does not suggest that we completely abandon
the outward expression of spirituality in the form of different
religions saying that most men cannot dwell in the abstract metaphysics
at the core of spiritual knowledge and require the symbols and forms
that make up outer religious expression as cognitive mediators to the
inner Truth.