I was thinking about tolerance–religious and otherwise.
What is it that makes people tolerant or intolerant? I think people who are tolerant, especially about religion, are (1) very comfortable with their path to God (2) don’t really have any deep doubts or questions about their connection to God, and (3) are willing to accept the idea that everyone has their own path and timeline for reaching God.
People who are intolerant often seem to be overcompensating. They are ultra religious or ultra political or ultra whatever but deep down inside they have doubts or questions. They’re going to SHOW everyone, however, that they are REALLY religious, political or whatever… and YOU better not question THEM! And everyone better be JUST LIKE THEM or something’s WRONG.
How do we deal with people like that? The Quran tells us to debate nicely but then walk away. That is very good advice! Perhaps, also, we can start avoiding the issue altogether by letting children know that it’s ok to have questions, and to ask them… and that we all have our own path to God. We can call God by many names–Creative Force, Great Spirit, Allah, Yahweh, God–but we’re really talking about one being, greater than the Universe, who somehow, even though unimagineably great, still loves us as individuals!
This is where the role of parents and caregivers becomes SO important. Schools can only teach so much and so can mosques, churches, synagogues and temples. We need family members and other people close to the family to encourage their children to explore their connection with God, develop confidence in their relationship with God, and therefore develop and maintain tolerance. In children is our hope for the future, for a world with peace, tolerance and respect. But it starts at home.
