On Methodology of Settling Religious Disputes Based on Imam Reza(A.S)'s Doctrine

Religious disputes have always been a challenge for thinkers and theologians to the extent that they have had an attempt to settle them peacefully. In this regard, by fair behavior, avoiding the extremes of excess and deficiency and observing human rights conventions, great men will lead human society toward progress, materially and spiritually.
Using a descriptive -analytical method and authentic historical sources, the present study attempts to investigate what strategies were used by Imam Reza (A.S) to settle the religious disputes. Imam Reza avoided to use pluralistic approaches for settling religious and sectarian disputes, since they result in confusion of human faith and intellectuality. Rather, in the form of guiding and purposeful debates, he used to provide answers to scientific questions and settle religious disputes by proving the legitimacy of valid beliefs and explaining false ones, emphasizing the principles of audience analysis and thematic analysis, observing justice, fairness and respecting others without any bias, as well as being fully aware of all aspects of discussions.