RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE

Is tolerance enough?
Examples of religious tolerance
Is religious criticism OK?
Is religious analysis OK?
Status of religious tolerance

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Is religious toleration enough?

Not by a long shot!

Jo Garcia-Cobb, a student in a comparative religion course at Southern Oregon University, commented: ₁

"Surely, we can tolerate a flea. But why must people of opposing religious views merely tolerate each other?"

We view religious tolerance as just the lowest step on a staircase. Each level produces an increasingly worthwhile change in personal attitude:

^{Enjoy the diversity that other faith groups contribute to society.
Appreciate the similarities and differences between other faith groups and your own.
Deep learning of other faith groups' beliefs and practices. Respectful inter-faith dialog.
Recognize faith groups' contribution to society.
Superficial study of other faith groups.
Recognize their existence as part of the religious mosaic of the country.
Allow other faith groups equal rights; allow them to exist.}

In the United States, the Federal Constitution has erected a wall of separation between church and state. This prevents the government from making laws regarding the establishment of religion. All religions must be treated equally. They cannot differentiate between what they regard as "valid" and "invalid" faiths. So, the state is required to at least act at the level of recognizing religious diversity.

If tolerance is so inadequate, why promote it on this web site?

We believe that toleration is the lowest acceptable starting point. But not everyone is even at that point. Below toleration, we have a number of steps leading into the pit of mass murder and genocide.

^{Deny a faith group status as a legitimate religion (e.g. Russia & Baptists)
Restrict the civil rights of a faith group (e.g. France & Jehovah's Witnesses)
Active repression; deny employment (e.g. Germany & Church of Scientology)
Perceive members of a faith group as being sub-human (e.g. Bulgaria & Roma [Gypsies])
Lynching, murder, shootings, attempted murder (e.g. Some citizens of South Africa & Witches)
Mass murder, genocide, extermination of a whole faith group (e.g. Sudan & Animists, Christians)}

The most appalling examples of the bottom rung in recent history have included:

In North America, there are many incidences of antisemitic verbal attacks, desecration of property, and random killings by Neo-nazis, members of Christian Identity groups, and others. The only recent lynching, and attempted mass murder of which we are aware were perpetrated by conservative Christians victimizing a Wiccan, who they saw as a threat to their town. Some antisemitic groups call for a holy war and exile against Jews.

The only recent instances that we have heard of where American promoted a program of genocide were:

An example of the results of religious intolerance:

Perhaps the most vicious example of religious intolerance in recent years has been in the Balkans. The civil war in Bosnia was largely based on mutual religious hatreds among some Muslims, Roman Catholic Christians, and Serbian Orthodox Christians. The oppression and resultant war in Kosovo was more complex, since it had cultural, economic, ethnic, and religious causes. But it was largely oppression by Serbian Orthodox Christians against ethnic Albanian Muslims.

On 1999-JUN-22, President Clinton commented on the gradual, step-wise descent into genocide in Kosovo. He emphasized the symbolic role that the U.S. Armed forces played. Within the military, there is respect for religious diversity and freedom for minority religions. He gave a congratulatory talk to troops at Aviano Air Base in Italy, recognizing their efforts during the air war against Yugoslavia. He said in part:

"...tomorrow's dictators in other places will have to now take a harder look before they try to destroy or expel an entire people simply because of their race or religion...

I want to say a special word of appreciation to all of you in our Armed Forces for just being here. If you think about -- I want you to really think about it -- you think about what Kosovo is all about. People were taught to hate people who were  from a different ethnic group than they were, who worshipped God in a different way. They started out by being afraid of them and misunderstanding them. Then, they came to hate them. And then  after hating them for a good while, they came to dehumanize them.

And once you decide that someone you're looking at is no longer a human being, it's not so hard to justify killing them, or burning them out of house and home, or torturing their children, or doing all the other things you have heard. It all starts -- it all starts with the inability to recognize the inherent dignity and equality of someone who is different from ourselves.

The composition of our Armed Forces, with people from every race, every ethnic group, every religious persuasion, from all walks of life, that make up American society -- the fact that our military has all of you in it is the most stunning rebuke to the claims of ethnic cleansing."

We would love to see the above text posted in every classroom in North America. But, as President Clinton spoke those words, religious diversity and freedom within the U.S. military were under attack by Congressman Barr, Governor Bush of Texas, other political leaders, and a coalition of conservative Christian groups.

Is religious criticism OK?

It is our belief that we should tolerate other people's spiritual and religious beliefs. However, belief does not exist in isolation from the rest of the world. Beliefs can generate actions...and sometimes those actions harm others.

There is a fine line between religious intolerance, and the legitimate criticism of harmful religious practices. For example, it is our opinion that one can be religiously tolerant of beliefs even while being critical of a group or person which:

In summary, we feel that

Is religious analysis OK?

Each religion, and each tradition within a religion, teach a set or sets of beliefs. Some, like Unitarian Universalism and Wicca, may have very few required beliefs. Others, like Roman Catholicism, have thousands.

We believe that friction and hatred between religions can be reduced through understanding. But understanding can only be reached if people learn about the tenets of other religions. They need to know how the beliefs of other faith groups differ from each other and from their own faith group.

Unfortunately, when we compare the beliefs of one religion to another, or compare one religion's beliefs with scientific observation, some people feel that we are criticizing their belief system, and are thus not religiously tolerant. That is their belief. They are certainly entitled to it. We disagree with it.

As noted above and on our home page, we specifically define religious tolerance as extending religious freedom to people of all religious traditions, even though they differ in their beliefs and/or practices. In turn, we define religious freedom giving liberty for people to:

But, we feel that comparisons of beliefs and criticisms of practices that hurt others is allowable within the limits of religious tolerance.

Status of religious tolerance:

There are few Internet sites (like this one) devoted to religious tolerance. One indicator of the lack of value given to tolerance in the religious sphere that we found within the large religious search engines during 1998-MAR:

We have since attempted to register our own site with Christian search engines. Some accepted our site for its listing; others did not; some have a statement of faith that one must agree with before they will register a web site. 

We have compiled a partial list of organizations which promote religious tolerance. Essentially all of these groups are composed of secularists, religious liberals, or representatives of mainline Christian denominations. One conservative Christian groups actively promotes racial tolerance: "Promise Keepers is the first national Evangelical organization that has named racial reconciliation as a non-negotiable core value." ₂ But PK does not appear to be particularly active in promoting tolerance of persons of minority sexual orientations or of women.

References:

1. Jo Garcia-Cobb, "Celebration, Not Tolerance," at: http://www.areopagus.com/f98101901.htm
2. Rev. Dr. John Perkins, editorial on tolerance in Urban Family Magazine, 1995-Spring, as mentioned in the Unofficial 'Promise 6' Home Page at http://www.donet.com/~brandyjc/p6text.htm

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Copyright © 1998 to 2006 by Ontario Consultants on religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2006-SEP-13
Author: B.A. Robinson