thumb|Minerva as a symbol of enlightened wisdom protects the believers of all religions (Daniel Chodowiecki, 1791)
Religious toleration is the condition of accepting or permitting others'
religious beliefs and practices which disagree with one's own.
In a country with a
state religion,
toleration means that the government permits religious practices of other sects besides the state religion, and does not persecute believers in other faiths. It is a partial status, and might still be accompanied by forms of
religious discrimination. Religious toleration as a Government policy merely means the absence of
religious persecution; unlike
religious liberty it does not mean that religions are equal before the law. Toleration is a
privilege granted by Government (which it may do by law or charter), not a
right against it; governments have often tolerated some religions and not others.
Religious toleration "as a government-sanctioned practice — the sense on which most discussion of the phenomenon relies —
is not attested before the sixteenth century", which makes it rather difficult to apply the concept to topics like
Persecution of religion in ancient Rome.
Historically, toleration has been a contentious issue within many religions as well as between one religion and another. At issue is not merely whether other faiths should be permitted, but also whether a ruler who is a believer may be tolerant, or permit his subordinates to be.
In the
Middle Ages, toleration of
Judaism was a contentious issue throughout
Christendom. Today, there are concerns about toleration of
Christianity in
Islamic states (see also
dhimmi and
Islam and other religions).
Proselytism can be a contentious issue; it can be regarded as an offence against the validity of others' religions, or as an expression of one's own faith.
The development of religious toleration
The concept of toleration has evolved in modern Europe, and changed during its development. For a contemporary reader there is a danger of confusing the modern connotation of words like "toleration", "religious freedom " and "liberty of conscience" with the historic meanings of these word.
[Walsham 2006: 233.] The use of these terms in
John Stuart Mill's
On Liberty or by 20th century philosophers like
John Rawls and
Ronald Dworkin is different from the concept of religious toleration in the 17th century.
To complicate matters further, the Latin
tolerantia was a "highly-developed political and judicial concept in mediaeval scholastic theology and canon law."
[Walsham 2006: 234.] Tolerantia was used to "denote the self-restraint of a civil power in the face of" outsiders, like infidels, Muslims or Jews, but also in the face of social groups like prostitutes and lepers.
For individuals, religious toleration generally means an attitude of acceptance towards other people's religions. It does not mean that one views other religions as equally true; merely that others have the right to hold and practice their beliefs. This element of objection is important. People, who take these matters seriously, often experience distress when they are confronted with religious beliefs that they regard as idolatrous,
superstitious,
heretical or
schismatic.
Contexts of religious tolerance
At least five contexts of religious tolerance can be distinguished. Religious tolerance as a state sanctioned practice can more precisely termed
civil tolerance. Civil tolerance is concerned with "the policy of the state towards religious dissent". In contrast to this, ecclesiastical tolerance is concerned with the degree of diversity tolerated within a particular church. Without this distinction, the
Christian debate on persecution and toleration in England could not be adequately understood.
Furthermore, there is also a
social and a
polemical context of religious tolerance. The grand theme of
divine tolerance is the emphasis on "the patience and longsuffering of God" as it is frequently portrayed in the Christian
Bible; This image of God has been invoked by early Christian advocates of toleration.
The polemical context
Contemporary authors such as
Sam Harris,
Richard Dawkins,
Christopher Hitchens and
Daniel Dennett have all challenged the tolerance of religion. In
The End of Faith, Sam Harris asserts that we should be unwilling to tolerate unjustified beliefs about morality, spirituality, politics, and the origin of humanity. In his
preface to
The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins says, "If this book works as I intend, religious readers who open it will be atheists when they put it down."
[Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion.]Timeline
- 311 AD, The Roman Emperor Galerius issues a general edict of toleration in his own name and in those of Licinius and Constantine.
- 1190, Genghis Khan composes his code of law, the Yassa, in which there is religious freedom for all who were under his rule.
- 1264, The Statute of Kalisz guaranteed safety, personal liberties, freedom of religion, trade, and travel to Jews in Poland.
- 1554, Castellio writes the pamphlet "De haereticis, an sint persequendi" (Whether heretics should be persecuted), the first modern appeal for toleration.
- 1948, December 10 The United Nations General Assembly issues the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 18 declares that everyone has the right to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, and to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
- 2007, July 12 - First Hindu opening prayer by Hindu leader Rajan Zed in the history of United States Senate in Washington DC was protested.
See also
