Religious Tolerance

When I contemplate why I am a Christian, I can only come up with two reasons:

1. It was the religion in which I was raised and,
2. I haven't found a reason to change.

I mean, the story appeals to me, heaven and hell, sin and redemption, charity and good will, but it isn't like I shopped around for a religion to find the perfect one. Religion to me isn't something you can really analyze and weigh the pros and cons of each like you do when buying a car or deciding when to start a family. Christianity feels right enough for me, at least right enough not to feel the need to "shop around" for anything else. After all, religion is really just the development of a personal relationship with God and living through his teachings. I believe in the teachings of Christianity and the message I get on Sundays.

When I step back and look at the 1000 different flavors of religion, I tend to find a number of commonalities between them. The commonalities aren't in numbers or names of Gods, the stories in their doctrines, or their ceremonies and dogma, but rather they reside in the beliefs of the fundamental rights and liberties of man. In Christian terms, these rights translate to those that abide by the virtues of "Love thy neighbor", "Do unto others as you would see them done unto you", and essentially the 10 commandments. In secular terms, don't steal, don't murder, don't lie, don't commit adultery, and so on. Perhaps I am being too much of an optimist, but I feel that every human has a sense of accepted morality and what is commonly good of society. The presence of these fundamental rights throughout disparate religions provides evidence that man is generally good and encourages the promotion of these beliefs throughout society. At the bottom of this post, I have provided an example of these commonalities with the pervasiveness of the Golden Rule.

It is this commonality in religion that gives me a great deal of acceptance of other religions. If religion is what solidifies these fundamental virtues, and thus protect my own freedom, liberties, and virtues, I whole heartedly support it. In the end, it is our Maker(s) who is/are the judge, jury, and executioner and it isn't my place to be his (or her?) surrogate. If I die and see Buddha at the pearly gates, all I can say is "Hey, I didn't believe in you on Earth, but at least I was a good person to others, right?" That is about the best that anyone can do. It is because of this, I don't really feel that there is a "right" or "wrong" religion. At the end of the day, no one will know for sure until they are at the end of their rope.

Unfortunately, many folks are pushed away because of the "institution" of religion. Not because of the fundamental rights or the foundation of religion, but rather because of those who, I feel, lose the meaning of religion. Those who judge. Those who push their beliefs rather than teach their beliefs. Those that promote prejudice, intolerance, stereotypes, and outright bigotry. Those that rob others from their freedom, their lives or their spirituality through violence, abuse, or intimidation. This is truly a shame. I feel that these individuals have lost sight of the purpose of a belief system and the doctrine from which their belief system is based.

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The Golden Rule in Different Belief Systems.

• Bahá’í: “Choose…for thy neighbor that which thou choosest for thyself.” (Bahá’u’lláh)
  
• Buddhism: “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.” (Udana-Varga 5, 18) “Consider others as yourself.” (Dhammapada 10.1)
  
• Christianity: “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)
  
• Confucianism: “Is there one maxim that ought to be acted upon throughout one’s whole life? Surely it is the maxim of lovingkindness: Do not unto others what you would not have them do unto you.” (Analects 15, 23)
  
• Greek Philosophy: “Treat your friends as you would want them to treat you.” (Aristotle, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, 5:21; Bohn Library translation, 188) “Do not do to others what you would not wish to suffer yourself.” (Isocrates, Isocrates Cyprian Orations, 149)
  
• Hinduism: “Men gifted with intelligence and purified souls should always treat others as they themselves wish to be treated.” (Mahabharata 13.115.22)
  
• Islam: “Not one of you is a believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” (Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 13)
  
• Jainism: “A man should treat all creatures in the world as he himself would like to be treated.” (Sutra-keit-anga)
  
• Judaism: “Don’t take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people; rather, love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:18) “What is hateful to you, do not to your fellowman. That is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary.” (Babylonian Talmud, Sabbath 31a)
  
• Sikhism: “As thou deemest thyself, so deem others. Then shalt thou become a partner in heaven.” (Kabir’s Hymns, Asa 17)


• Taoism: “Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.” (T’ai Shang Kan Ying P’ien)
  
• Zoroastrianism: “That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto another whatsoever is not good for itself.” (Dadistan-i-dinik 94, 5)
  
  

1 Peter Smith, “Golden Rule,” A Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahá’í Faith (Oxford, England: Oneworld Publications, 2000) p. 165.