Religious tolerance

Compared to other types of tolerance.
What it involves / doesn't involve.

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Overview:

First, consider the opposite to religious tolerance:

The English language has many words to describe various forms of bigotry, including racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. But it has no single word to refer to forms of bigotry based on a person's religion or faith group.

We feel that the English language needs a new word. We suggest:

"Religism", meaning "the expression of fear towards, hatred towards, or discrimination against, persons of a specific religion affiliation, usually a minority faith."

The word is gradually catching on. Until English speaking people reach a consensus on a new term we can always use "religious intolerance."

More information on "Religism."

In this website:
The meaning of the term "religious tolerance" does not involve:

In this website:
The meaning of the term "religious tolerance" does involve:

You, of course, may wish to define religious tolerance differently. In the field of religion, there is often no consensus on the definitions of terms. We have seen as many as 18 definition for the term "witch" for example.

Various definitions and discussions of "Religious Tolerance"

This definition views religious toleration as a human rights issue. A person is tolerant when they respect the right of others to hold different religious beliefs. A person might believe that their own faith is the only valid religion - the one fully approved of and created by a particular God. They might consider all other religions as profoundly evil. Yet, they can still be religious tolerant towards others if they recognize that all individuals and religious groups have the basic human right of religious liberty - to freely follow their faith's beliefs and practices.

"Acknowledging and supporting that individuals have the right and freedom to their own beliefs and related legitimate practices, without necessarily validating those beliefs or practices." ₁

We are religiously tolerant when we give others the freedom to do things and believe things, even though we feel that they are wrong! To some people, this is not easy. Some feel that their religion is the only true faith, and that to oppress followers of another religion is to promote God's will in society. We support their right to believe this. But we oppose them if they want to take action to oppress others. That path leads to the killing fields of Bosnia- Herzegovina, massacres in East Timor, the gas chambers of Nazi Germany and numerous other horrors.

The difference between religious tolerance and religious validation:

People in religiously diverse cultures like the United States and Canada have different and conflicting religious beliefs and practices. In order to make society work, we do not all have to agree on religious matters; we do not have to accept all religious beliefs as valid. But, in the opinion of the OCRT -- the group that publishes this web site -- it is important that we respect the rights of other individuals and groups to hold different beliefs. Unless we respect the right of others to follow their own faith group, there is no reason why we should expect them to reciprocate by respecting our freedom to be different from them. The Supreme Court of Canada expressed this well in a 2002 ruling concerning the access to books by students in the Surrey School District in Surrey, British Columbia:

"...the demand for tolerance cannot be interpreted as the demand to approve of another person's beliefs or practices. When we ask people to be tolerant of others, we do not ask them to abandon their personal convictions. We merely ask them to respect the rights, values and ways of being of those who may not share those convictions. The belief that others are entitled to equal respect depends, not on the belief that their values are right, but on the belief that they have a claim to equal respect regardless of whether they are right. Learning about tolerance is therefore learning that other people's entitlement to respect from us does not depend on whether their views accord with our own. Children cannot learn this unless they are exposed to views that differ from those they are taught at home." ₂

References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. Anton Hein, "Religious Freedom, Tolerance, and Intolerance," at: http://www.gospelcom.net/
2. Supreme Court of Canada, "Chamberlain v. Surrey School District," No. 36 [2002] 4 S.C.R. 710, Paragraph 66. Online at: http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/

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Copyright © 1998 to 2009 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update and review: 2009-JUL-12
Author: B.A. Robinson

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