Respectful Puralism: Apreciating the Diversity of Religious-Based Values Within a Coaching Environment

The aim of this paper is to explore to what extent the worldviews of five major religious traditions, namely Buddhism, Christianity,

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Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, impact the learning environment and act as mirrors in the process of dialogue in a multi-cultural coaching environment. Partners in a coaching situation formulate questions and have dialogue norms that echo the perspectives and learning assumptions of both their own religious based ideologies and also the values of their host country. Dialogue behaviour often relies upon learned values such as honour and respect, power distance, hierarchical norms and, not least, non-verbal cues such as gaze behaviour and body movement. Consequently, the coach has a responsibility to create an environment where religious based differences are valued.