Religious tolerance

Religious tolerance or religious 'toleration' may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, mistaken, or harmful". Historically, most incidents and writings pertaining to toleration involve the status of minority and dissenting viewpoints in relation to a dominant state religion. However, religion is also sociological, and the practice of toleration has always had a political aspect as well.
An overview of the history of toleration and different cultures in which toleration has been practiced, and the ways in which such a paradoxical concept has developed into a guiding one, illuminates its contemporary use as political, social, religious, and ethnic, applying to LGBT individuals and other minorities, and other connected concepts such as human rights.

Definition

The term "tolerance" derives from the Latin tolerantia, meaning "endurance" or "the ability to bear." For Cicero, tolerantia was a personal virtue—the capacity to endure hardship, injustice, or misfortune with composure. By the sixteenth century the notion of tolerance began to take on a more political dimension, associated with maintaining peace and social concord amid religious conflict. This is seen in developments like the 1555 Peace of Augsburg, even though the term itself was not explicitly invoked. Over time, the concept evolved from mere forbearance—what John Horton describes as "putting up with" disapproved beliefs—toward a broader commitment to recognizing and respecting diversity.
The concept of tolerance is multifaceted, shaped by various academic disciplines including philosophy, sociology, political science, religious studies, and law. Tolerance research reveals a plurality of interpretations, each contingent upon specific social, political, and cultural contexts. In antiquity, Cicero’s notion of tolerantia emphasized endurance in the face of adversity. Early modern thinkers such as Baruch Spinoza, Pierre Bayle, and John Locke explored tolerance primarily in political terms.
By the 18th century, Moses Mendelssohn advocated for religious tolerance as a fundamental human right, a position later expanded by figures such as John Rawls, who framed tolerance as a virtue of justice, and Michael Walzer, who linked it to the necessity of pluralism.
Scholars such as John Horton, David Heyd, and Anna Galeotti have further debated whether tolerance inherently involves disapproval or can be redefined as recognition. Key conditions for the emergence of tolerance include power dynamics, social conflict, and normative disagreement. As Karl Popper famously asserted, tolerance must have limits to prevent its self-destruction, particularly in the face of intolerance. Contemporary research emphasizes that tolerance involves both rejection and acceptance, underscoring its normative and complex nature. Thus, the ambiguity and contextuality of tolerance present significant challenges in arriving at a unified definition.
Renaissance humanism emphasized individual dignity, critical thinking, and ethical living over religious dogma. Thinkers such as Erasmus and Jean Bodin promoted tolerance by valuing personal conscience and diversity of belief. Their approach resisted both Catholic and Protestant intolerance, favoring persuasion over coercion and rejecting harsh condemnations of heresy. Humanist ideals later influenced Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who argued that a humane society must support “the positive welcoming and prizing of human individuality”.
Liberalism, particularly through John Stuart Mill, expanded the idea of tolerance beyond religion to include political and cultural pluralism. Mill defended the necessity of free expression, even of offensive ideas, as a path to truth and societal benefit. John Rawls later developed the theory of political liberalism, grounding it in equality, fairness, and a shared public reason that all citizens could endorse regardless of personal beliefs. However, critics like Adam Seligman caution that liberal tolerance sometimes becomes “principled indifference,” privatizing difference rather than engaging with it. Together, humanism and liberalism created philosophical foundations for modern notions of tolerance by emphasizing respect, equality, and freedom of conscience.
Religious tolerance has deep historical roots within religious and metaphysical traditions predating Enlightenment liberalism. In Jewish thought, Moses is depicted as an exemplar of tolerance, a virtue further emphasized by Maimonides as essential for wise and just political leadership. Moses Mendelssohn articulated a metaphysical defense of religious diversity, viewing it as part of divine providence and necessary for spiritual and social perfection. Christian mysticism also contributed to early notions of tolerance by recognizing multiple paths to the divine, minimizing dogmatic authority. Figures such as Dionysios the Areopagite and Meister Eckhart highlighted individual spiritual experience and unity with the divine, allowing for varied approaches to ultimate reality. These traditions laid the groundwork for later concepts of tolerance by emphasizing respect for difference and the legitimacy of diverse religious expressions within a shared spiritual framework.
Contemporary scholarship has adopted an inclusive and active approach to defining religious tolerance. Twenty-first century definitions of religious tolerance have drawn upon sociological, anthropological, and psychological perspectives. Religious tolerance is now commonly understood as:
“people’s capacity or willingness to accept, respect, and coexist with differing viewpoints, beliefs, practices, or behaviours without resorting to aggression, discrimination, or conflict.”
Sociologist Charles Taylor emphasizes the importance of balancing “the autonomy of religious groups and the overarching principles of civic life” for a tolerant society. In a keynote speech, Ambassador Maurizio Massari stated that “tolerance is a key ingredient of democracy.” Recent studies indicate that individuals who feel accepted in inclusive societies are more likely to engage in civic and political life.Education and media literacy programs are seen as vital for cultivating tolerance. Psychological research by Hook and colleagues finds that intellectual humility in relation to religious beliefs encourages greater religious tolerance. This humility fosters openness to other perspectives, strengthens mutual understanding, and reduces defensiveness. Suryani and Muslim advocate incorporating religious tolerance into religious education curricula to address pluralism, social cohesion, interfaith respect, and open-mindedness. Research from Indonesia suggests that religious education in schools can promote interfaith understanding and tolerance.
The expanded concept of religious tolerance is increasingly linked to human rights, education, and LGBTQ+ rights. It is now seen as an evolving process of dialogue and active engagement, valuing all religious traditions within a pluralistic society. Modern conceptions of tolerance advocate not just coexistence, but the broader framework of religious freedom. Some scholars argue that "religious freedom" better expresses the commitment to equal dignity and personal growth, integrating with human rights and encouraging active respect over passive acceptance.

In Antiquity

Religious toleration has been described as a "remarkable feature" of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia. Cyrus the Great assisted in the restoration of the sacred places of various cities. In the Old Testament, Cyrus was said to have released the Jews from the Babylonian captivity in 539–530 BCE, and permitted their return to their homeland.
The Hellenistic city of Alexandria, founded 331 BCE, contained a large Jewish community which lived in peace with equivalently sized Greek and Egyptian populations. According to Michael Walzer, the city provided "a useful example of what we might think of as the imperial version of multiculturalism."
Before Christianity became the state church of the Roman Empire, it encouraged conquered peoples to continue worshipping their own gods. "An important part of Roman propaganda was its invitation to the gods of conquered territories to enjoy the benefits of worship within the imperium." Christians were singled out for persecution because of their own rejection of Roman pantheism and refusal to honor the emperor as a god. There were some other groups that found themselves to be exceptions to Roman tolerance, such as the Druids, the early followers of the cult of Isis, the Bacchanals, the Manichaens and the priests of Cybele, and Temple Judaism was also suppressed.
In the early 3rd century, Cassius Dio outlined the Roman imperial policy towards religious tolerance:
In 311 CE, Roman Emperor Galerius issued a general edict of toleration of Christianity, in his own name and in those of Licinius and Constantine I.
Saint Catherine's Monastery of the Sinai region of Egypt claims to have once had possession of an original letter of protection from Mohammed, known as the Ashtiname of Muhammad and traditionally dated to 623 CE. The monastery's tradition holds that a Christian delegation from the Sinai requested for the continued activity of the monastery, and regional Christianity per se. The original no longer exists, but a claimed 16th century copy of it remains on display in the monastery. While several twentieth century scholars accepted the document as a legitimate original, some modern scholars now question the documentary's authenticity.

Buddhism

Since the 19th century, Western intellectuals and spiritualists have viewed Buddhism as an unusually tolerant faith. James Freeman Clarke said in Ten Great Religions that "Buddhists have founded no Inquisition; they have combined the zeal which converted kingdoms with a toleration almost inexplicable to our Western experience." Bhikkhu Bodhi, an American-born Buddhist convert, stated:
The Edicts of Ashoka issued by King Ashoka the Great, a Buddhist, declared ethnic and religious tolerance. His Edict in the 12th main stone writing of Girnar on the third century BCE which state that "Kings accepted religious tolerance and that Emperor Ashoka maintained that no one would consider his / her is to be superior to other and rather would follow a path of unity by accruing the essence of other religions".
However, Buddhism has also had controversies regarding toleration. In addition, the question of possible intolerance among Buddhists in Sri Lanka and Myanmar has been raised by Paul Fuller.