Name: Abraham Thiong Ajak Thiong

Nim: 2141230135
Program: mechanical production and maintenance engineering
Course until: Religion (Agama)

The theological evolution of the attitude of religious tolerance in the life of the
church members.

Introduction
Religious tolerance is imperative in modern societies because it allows people
with separate faiths, beliefs or values to coexist with one another.
Acknowledgment of the validity of other people’s religions requires placing these
different religions in their traditional contexts in order to understand them.

Furthermore, understanding the history of other cultures allows one to appreciate

how similar experiences led to different conceptual systems. One must realize
that people created their belief systems in order to make sense of their worlds or
the chaos around them. Therefore, every religion is reflective of the culture and
history of its followers.

Hindu-Buddhism
In order to become religiously tolerant, one must familiarize oneself with the
history of this religion. The Hindu pattern is again evidence of the fact that all
religions are depictions of the experiences of the people involved and the
conceptual systems that they deduced from them.

The Hindu religion has more than one holy text, more than one religious
authority, several deities, theological systems and understandings of morality.
Adherents of this religion are highly tolerant because of its henotheistic nature.
Nonetheless, most followers still believe in one Supreme Being who manifests
his powers through different divinities.
Central aspects of Hinduism include Vishnu (the preserver), Brahma (the creator)
and Shiva (the destroyer). Belief in the cycle of life i.e. the Samsara is central to
the teaching of these adherents. However, it is possible for one to achieve
enlightenment and thus escape this cycle. Many assert that one’s present life
stems from the consequences of one’s past life.

This religion has four major doctrines that include dharma (righteousness in
religion), artha (economic success) and Kama (sense gratification) and nivritti
(renunciation of the world). The latter is achieved through renunciation of the
world in a process called moksha. Mankind’s supreme’s goal is to reach moksha.

Therefore, moksha is a solution of samsara. It is derived from the Buddhist faith.

Doctrines from the latter religion were crucial in resolving complications in this
religion. All these concepts can be traced back to the history of the Hindu
religion. By dissecting the experiences of the Hindu people, one can understand
why they came to follow their present practices and this should foster religious
tolerance among non-Hindus (Esposito et al., 2002).

The Hindu religion began as far back as 4000 BCE in the Indus Valley. It began
with the Indus valley culture, which was held by native Indians. Thereafter, some
Aryan tribes from Central Asia and Europe entered India and introduced Vedism.
Since their immigration was done slowly or in waves (according to recent
scholarly discoveries), most natives easily took up the Aryan religious with ease.
This explains how the latter religion started amalgamating different belief
systems. The Vedic belief system underwent various changes between 900 and
500 BCE. At first, the religion began with an emphasis on sacrificial rites.
Emphasis was on perfecting people’s performance of the rites. However with
time, some intellectuals decided that focusing too much on the rites instead of
the wisdom associated with them was wrong.

They were called the Upanishads, and they introduced the focus on total
dissociation from society in order to reach ultimate spirituality. They challenged
the original structures of the Vedic religion because the latter was highly
organized around sacrifices and priestly rituals. The priests who performed these
rites were called Brahmans. They represented the capacity of the human to
possess divine power.

When the Upanishads introduced their concept of total detachment from society
or moksha, the Brahmans felt that this would threaten the organization of their
society. As a result, they proposed a middle way in which one could strive
towards moksha but still maintain the social hierarchies in society. It should be
noted that the priestly class of the Brahmans arose earlier on in the Vedic faith
because of some fire rituals that the Vedic believers carried out.

These rituals yielded successful results and led to the belief that their priests had
a superior status. The Upanishads wanted to internalize the ritualistic process,
hence their shift to the individual. This belief in developing the spiritual self led to
the acceptance of moksha as a solution towards the problem of cyclical life
(Fallows, 1998).

Thus far, one can appreciate why Hinduism has a hierarchical system that places
the priestly class above all others. This was a way of preserving order in their
society. One can also appreciate why the religion appears to be polytheistic. The
god of fire and other gods were manifestations of a supreme being. One can also
comprehend why these adherents believe in moksha; it provides them with a
mechanism for solving the problems of this life.

It also gives them something to aspire to or work towards. This small history,
therefore, heightens religious tolerance because it places these belief systems in
context and establishes the experiences that led to their development. Some of
them were social (entry of the Aryans into the Hindu culture), others were
intellectual (internalizing rituals) while others were economic (preservation of
social order for material prosperity).
Chinese religions
In China, some people practice Taoism, others Confucianism and others believe
in Buddhism. Certain followers combine elements of all three faiths. The
experiences of members of these cultures also provide important insights
concerning the influence of people’s experiences in the development of their
belief system. By placing those occurrences in context, one can then gain
religious tolerance of adherents of these faiths even though one does not ascribe
to any of them.

In Confucianism, most adherents believe that social harmony is the most

important goal (Hopfe & Woodward, 2004). This school of thought was started by
Confucius. He lived at a time when his society was struggling with the
reinforcement of laws. Confucius thought about the ineffectiveness of coercive
laws.

People simply followed them without really understanding them. This meant that
the method was reactive rather than proactive. The intellectual proposed that if
people internalized behaviors before acting, then they would act in an
appropriate manner. In this regard, they would abide by their mutual obligations,
and thus prevent the occurrence of disorder in that society.

Confucius, therefore, created the concept of mutual relationships and the need to
respect one another. From this small history, one can understand why loyalty,
etiquette and humanness are so important in the Confucian faith today. It was an
attempt at creating social harmony by ensuring that everyone understood his
place. Through education and personal effort, it was possible for people to
become better.

In the Taoist school of thought, it is held that the ideal way of life is to accept
things as they are. When one resists nature, then one actually causes things to
get worse. It is in line with this thinking that Taoists believe in the Ying and Yang.
One represents the strong and hard force and the other represents the soft and
feminine force. Therefore, by finding a balance between these forces in the
universe, then calmness will prevail. The Taoist faith came after the Confucian
school of thought. Confucianism taught about personal involvement and striving
to become better.

However, subsequent intellectuals realized that they needed a new way of

thinking that promoted greater peace and harmony. They lived at a time when
there was too much active striving as seen in the warring era. Therefore, it was
imperative to introduce the concept of yielding to nature. In this school of thought,
it was argued that there was a force of life called Tao that flows everywhere.

One’s major goal was to be in harmony with the Tao. Through the use
compassion, moderation and humiliation, one can develop important virtues.
Most problems arise when one tries to fight or interfere with the Tao by acting in
opposition to nature. One must strive to find answers within through meditation.
The story of the emergence of Taoism demonstrates that experiences are crucial
to the formation of one’s belief systems.

It was a response to the challenges of Confucianism and the social upheavals it

had created. Too much active strive led to war in that community; this prompted
an alternative way of thinking. Once again, one can become tolerant to this
religion by realizing that it was a natural creation of the political and social
problems of that time. Taoism complemented Confucianism in this society. In
fact, many individuals abide by the principles of both these faiths.

They epitomize religious tolerance because they understand that belief systems
carry a certain purpose in one’s society or one’s history. The same reasoning
allows one to understand why Buddhism plays an important role in the Chinese
society as well as many others in Asia. It is philosophical in nature and has
generated minimal conflict with other faiths hence its acceptance (Keown, 1996).
Abraham monotheism
Judaism, Islam, and Christianity are the three main religions that have come to
be associated with Abraham monotheism. A large part of Christian scriptures
have been adopted from the Jewish faith. Similarly, many parts of the Islamic
faith have stories or portions from the Jewish scriptures. In order to enhance
religious tolerance, it is imperative to look at the history of the formation of these
faiths in order to understand why their adherents hold the beliefs that they do.

Judaism is a religion in which people believe that they have a special relationship
with God. This stems from the fact that they are a chosen people, having
descended from Abraham. God gave them a gift of laws called the Torah to
assist in maintaining their relationship with him and with one another.

The Jews have been misunderstood by many as a ritualistic and legalistic

religion as seen through their scriptures, which are called Torah (interpreted as
laws). In order to negate these misunderstandings, one must understand why the
Jews called their scriptures the Torah.

The Jews think of themselves as God’s special people. It is believed that in order
to promote harmony with God, they needed some guidance. Also, God needed to
give them a commentary on how they could act towards one another; this was
the reason why he gave them the guidance of the Torah.

Therefore, one can become tolerant of this religion by understanding the origin of
their ritualistic practices. Judaism is also a religion that is highly diverse. The
diversity stems from some cultural and theological experiences of members of
this religion. Some individuals resettled along the Mediterranean or other parts of
Europe and thus created their own version of the religion.

Conversely, some individuals understood the rituals and religious practices

differently. These theological differences led to the birth of Reconstructionist,
reform Jews, Liberal Jews, Orthodox and Conservative Jews. Therefore, a
cultural dissection of the Jewish religious system allows one to understand it. In
this regard, one can accept adherents of the faith based on the premise that their
history and their values led them to that place.

Christianity is the most predominant faith in the world today. In the South Sudan,
most citizens associate themselves with some form of Christianity. It is still
necessary to understand the development of Christianity in order to foster
tolerance among the various sects if one happens to be a Christian or to build
tolerance for non-Christians.

The Christian faith began when Jesus of Nazareth was born in Jerusalem; a
Jewish community. He was regarded as the incarnation of God as he was his
son. This was seen through the fulfillment of prophecy as well as his life on earth
– he performed miracles and did other divine things.

After he died and resurrected, the first Christian church officially began.
Therefore, for non-Christians, it is possible to understand why Christians focus
on Jesus; they believe that he was God living amongst men. Furthermore,
Christianity is monotheistic because having such a supreme being is the only
consistent way to understand what their Holy Scriptures say about nature and the
universe.

Religious Intolerance in the lives of the church members:

Why do people of different religions seem to hate each other so much? Perhaps

because they are simply ignorant of how much they really have in common! I
generally find that intolerance is a result of ignorance, and such ignorance and
intolerance is often passed down to the next generation when people in
positions of authority (parents, teachers, etc.) remain ignorant. Ignorance
often leads to fear, fear can lead to hate, and hate can lead to violence.
Knowledge is the key to avoid going down this path.

Conflict between people of different religions may begin with simple

ignorance. People who do not really know anything about other religions just
assume the others are very different. They are not aware that many religions
share the same basic ideas. Thus these people assume that the other religions
must be wrong. Some people have the idea that:

"If my religion is right then you and yours must be wrong (and we can't let
people go around thinking they know the truth when they don't.")

Of course, they likely think the same thing of us, so who is to say who is right
and who is wrong? This attitude assumes that different religions are entirely
different, mutually exclusive, and thus in conflict. Personally, I think there is
some truth in all religions (but also things that are not true) and an overlap of
common ideas. It behooves us to learn about such Truth wherever it might be
found!

1. Selective knowledge is another problem. A really strong intolerance will

often interfere with overcoming our ignorance because we may actually
close our minds to new information that can change our perspective

2. Add passion for one's faith to the ignorance of other faiths and you have a
recipe for speaking out in favor of one’s own religion and against those
others that one feels are wrong and actually leading people astray from the
Truth.

3. People of passionate faith who do know something about other religions,

may focus more on the differences than the similarities. For some, the
differences tend to stand out like a "sore thumb" and can often overshadow
the similarities.

4. Although some religions are fighting over doctrinal differences, most conflict
stems from more secular causes- a desire for political power, a struggle for
resources, ethnic rivalries, and economic competition.

“My purpose and intention is to remove from the hearts of men the religious enmity
and hatred which have fettered them and to bring all religions into agreement and
unity. Inasmuch as this hatred and enmity, this bigotry and intolerance are
outcomes of misunderstandings, the reality of religious unity will appear when these
misunderstandings are dispelled. For the foundation of the divine religions is one
foundation. This is the oneness of revelation or teaching; but alas! We have turned
away from that foundation, holding tenaciously to various dogmatic forms and
blind imitation of ancestral beliefs. This is the real cause of enmity, hatred and
bloodshed in the world; the reason of alienation and estrangement among
mankind’’. – Abdu’l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. 96.

Solutions to Religious Intolerance in the lives of the church members:

Today the one overriding need is unity and harmony among the beloved of the Lord, for
they should have among them but one heart and soul and should, so far as in them lieth,
unitedly withstand the hostility of all the peoples of the world; they must bring to an end
the benighted prejudices of all nations and religions and must make known to every
member of the human race that all are the leaves of one branch, the fruits of one bough.
– Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 277.
Any religion which is not a cause of love and unity is no religion. All the holy prophets
were as doctors to the soul; they gave prescriptions for the healing of mankind; thus any
remedy that causes disease does not come from the great and supreme Physician.
– Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 129.
So let’s review:
1. Build Interreligious Understanding, Cooperation and Fellowship.
2. Establish a World Interreligious Council to Settle Interfaith Disputes
3. Educate Everyone—Early–about everyone’s Religion
4. If Your Faith Causes Hatred and Bloodshed, Find a More Peaceful Path.
5. Think of All Religions as Chapters of One Religion.
If you think about solving religious conflicts in this new way, the solutions become
so much more rational and reasonable than ever before. Rather than a jumble of
conflicting creeds and warring factions, you can begin to see religion as a holistic
system; as a series of revelations linked with one another
Conclusion
Religious tolerance can be effectively promoted when one understands the
experiences and the history of the people who abide by them. Hindu-Buddhism,
Chinese religions and Abraham Monotheism all emanated from a series of
events or encounters that shaped those faith systems.
Some issues were political such as the warring states in China and Taoism;
others were social such as the need to stick to certain social structures as in
Hinduism. In essence different experiences led to different conceptual
frameworks hence religions. It is this statement that makes religious tolerance
possible.

References
Esposito, J. Fasching, D. and Lewis, T. (2002). World Religions Today. Oxford:
OUP

Fallows, W. (1998). Religions East and West. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace

Publishers

Hopfe, M. & Woodward, R. (2004). Religions of the World. London: Pearson-

Prentice hall

Keown, D. (1996). Buddhism: a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University

press