 Cobb has also been active in formulating his own theories of religious pluralism , partly in response to another Claremont Graduate University professor , John Hick . Cobb 's pluralism has sometimes been identified as a kind of " deep " pluralism or , alternately , as a " complementary " pluralism . He believes that there are actually three distinct religious ultimates : 1 ) God , 2 ) Creativity / Emptiness / Nothingness / Being @-@ itself , and 3 ) the cosmos / universe . Cobb believes that all of these elements are necessary and present in some form in every religion but that different faiths tend to stress one ultimate over the others . Viewed in this way , different religions may be seen to complement each other by providing insight into different religious ultimates . Cobb 's pluralism thus avoids the criticism of conflating religions that are actually very different ( for instance , Buddhism and Christianity ) while still affirming the possible truths of both . 
