A Response to the Soteriological Problem of Religious Diversity

Introduction 

If the Christian God is the only true God, then how is it fair for people in parts of the world that are less likely to produce Christians? What about people within geographical areas with less Gospel transmission? Some argue that this makes the existence of the Christian God extremely unlikely. This article aims to challenge the framework of this question, as it carries some assumptions about how Humans relate to God, and what he owes us.

Objection framing

Many Christians will one day face the rebuke “If you were born in a non-western country you wouldn’t be Christian”. This statement could be elaborated into the query “If you need to believe the Gospel to be saved, how is it fair for people in areas where it is much less likely that they will become a Christian?”.

In some ways, this commits the Genetic Fallacy, because it challenges a belief based on its source, not its own merit. However this objection is actually going deeper and challenging the fairness of soteriology as it relates to geography, as a way to then further undermine the truth of the Gospel. In other words, the objection is not simply “Christianity is false because you learned it from your parents”, on the contrary it is a question of fairness and opportunity, and how it challenges divine goodness and the existence of an all-loving creator. 

This is similar to the divine hiddenness objection. If God is real and believing in him is the only way to be saved, then why is God not more obvious?

Quotes of Historical and Public Figures 

In a 2022 interview, public intellectual Alex O’Connor made the statement “...at least on a Christian worldview, your place of birth seems to be a reliable statistical indicator of how likely you are to be saved. That seems to be troubling.” [^1] He has made similar statements in other videos. 

Another example is how contemporary American philosopher and academic Stephen Maitzen talks about the “demographics of theism” and argues it is inconsistent with classical theistic doctrines of God being all-loving, in his research article “Divine hiddenness and the demographics of theism” [^2]

Response

Now, how do we respond to this? I’d humbly put forward that this objection fails to engage with biblical soteriology. This objection assumes that soteriology involves chance, and salvation relies on Humans to achieve, and therefore if you are born in a geographical location that is less likely to yield Christians, it is unfair. On the contrary, in reality salvation is completely achieved by God, upon the elect, through the humans he uses to achieve his purpose (Ephesians 1:4–5).

The objection being discussed also presupposes that God owes people salvation, and even more revelation than what he has given. Whereas the biblical conviction should be that God could theoretically be just in saving nobody, as all are deserving of judgement, and both the general and special revelation he has given us is more than we deserved. It is also sufficient for understanding the gospel, and provides enough evidence within itself through prophecy and other proofs that ignoring it is sinful (2 Timothy 3:15).

Another assumption being presented is that God judges people because they did not hear the gospel, rather than that he judges them because of their Sin. God will not judge anyone for what they do not know, he will judge them for what they do know. For all people innately understand right and wrong in their conscience, and all people have done wrong. (Romans 1:18-20)

Now, this point won't defeat the objection, but it's helpful to point out that this objection gives less credit to the fact that every nation has been exposed to the Christian gospel. There may be unique individuals or small pockets of people still to hear the gospel, however even many remote uncontacted tribes and islands have been contacted by Christian evangelists. I do not claim that the gospel has been preached adequately to all people, as it hasn’t. I simply claim that there isn’t a country in the world where God hasn’t been at work spreading the gospel to some extent.

Regardless, it is helpful and comforting to note that Christianity is by far, the most geographically diverse religion that exists. All other religions have somewhat of a geographical home base, whereas Christianity is a religion started in the middle-east, that has transcended continents and ethnicities more than any other religion statistically. The Pew research center’s 2010-2020 global analysis provides great insight into this. [^3] Praise God, that he has built a church that is more diverse than any other world religion. Again, I understand this doesn't defeat the argument, yet it helps give hope and takes weight away from the negative claim being made. 

Key Passages

Below are some key passages that are fundamental to understanding how God works throughout history and humanity to save the lost. 

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24)

It is fundamental to understand, God owes no one salvation, and is not unjust when humans are judged. “Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Psalm 53:3)

²⁶ And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, ²⁷ that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, (Acts 17:26-27)

This verse shows us that God is in control, and is above geographical borders. 

¹⁴ What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! ¹⁵ For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ¹⁶ So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. (Romans 9:14-16)

And

¹⁹ You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” ²⁰ But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” ²¹ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? ²² What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, ²³ in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— ²⁴ even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? ²⁵  (Romans 9:19-24)

I'd suggest that wrestling with the above verses in Romans 9 is how we can grow our understanding of the fairness of God’s saving of some and not others. We do not have a right as finite created beings to argue with the infinite wisdom of God. The bible implores us to trust him, not our own hearts. Once you are convinced that the God of the bible is real, you don't need to understand all of his divine judgements. The Christian can simply say “God, I know you are real and all knowing, whilst I am finite. I don't understand, but I choose to trust you in this”.

Historical or Public Responses

Gavin Ortlund has multiple great videos on Divine Hiddenness, cited below. He refutes the arguments made by Alex O’Connor and others. See these videos below.

Divine Hiddenness: My Response to Alex O'Connor

Divine Hiddenness: A Christian Response

Atheist and Christian Dialogue on Divine Hiddenness (Justin Schieber and Gavin Ortlund)

John Calvin writes “There is within the human mind, and indeed by natural instinct, an awareness of divinity.” - Institutes, 1.3.1. This relates to the teaching of Romans 1:19-20. All are guilty of denying their eternal creator. 

I will point out, in researching for this article, I discovered that many prominent figures in Church history taught either that some people who never heard the exact gospel, lived according to the gospel, and so are saved, or that ALL people will hear the gospel in some sense. This would do a great deal in dismissing the objection at hand, however I personally do not accept this conviction. Reformed theology teaches that salvation is in Christ alone and given through the ordinarily appointed means, being his word. However, it is helpful to remind ourselves that God is just, and we do not comprehend his wisdom and judgements. 

Here are some examples of figures within Church history making these arguments:

Thomas Aquinas stated “If a man were brought up in the forest or among wolves, he would have a natural knowledge of God… and God would either reveal to him what must be believed, or send him a preacher.” Summa Theologiae, I–II, q.76, a.1 (ad 1)

Justin Martyr was even more extreme when he wrote “Those who lived according to reason (logos) are Christians, even though they were thought to be atheists—such as Socrates and Heraclitus.” - First Apology, ch. 46 

This to me seems extremely troubling and unbiblical. “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:18)

Preempting the Objection

Critics may argue against the response put forward in this article that we are being asked to neglect our innate sense of good and evil, which can be problematic, because this innate sense is sometimes used to argue for the existence of God. However, critics fail to acknowledge the true sincerity of sin, and the righteous judgement of God. Like most objections, I would implore them to first consider the validity of the Bible the Christian claims about Jesus. If the bible is true and Jesus did rise from the dead, then we are to trust in him and his sovereign plan, not our limited personal understanding. 

Conclusion 

Ultimately, praise God that we have a gospel message that has transcended geographical location, ethnicity, and culture. Let us remind ourselves to have an understanding of soteriology not dependent on Humans ‘figuring it out’, or their statistical likelihood of hearing the good news, but rather on our eternal God’s saving purposes throughout humanity. Let us not take salvation for granted as something owed to us, doubting God when it is not granted. Rather, remember that all are worthy of judgement, and the salvation of God's chosen people, who put their faith in Christ and rest from their works, is an undeserved mercy. The soteriological problem of religious diversity aims to disprove God due to the likelihood that certain people will come to put their faith in God. When we give the biblical corpus its chance to speak on this matter, the objection is left unsatisfying.

[^1] O’Connor, A. [More Alex O’Connor]. (2022). You wouldn’t be Christian if you were born elsewhere [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/yL-H0H2PfOc?si=D1dcYqFy7E4sWK3V

[^2] Maitzen, Stephen. “Divine Hiddenness and the Demographics of Theism.” Religious Studies 42, no. 2 (2006): 177–191. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/religious-studies/article/abs/divine-hiddenness-and-the-demographics-of-theism/72B11611F451036F23BED7CDBC349C93

[^3] Hackett, C., Stonawski, M., Tong, Y., Kramer, S., Shi, A. F., & Fahmy, D. (2025). How the global religious landscape changed from 2010 to 2020. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/how-the-global-religious-landscape-changed-from-2010-to-2020/