Religious intolerance
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Religious intolerance is intolerance of another's religious beliefs, practices, faith or lack thereof.
Statements which are contrary to one's religious beliefs do not constitute intolerance. Religious intolerance, rather, occurs when a person or group (e.g., a society, a religious group, a non-religious group) specifically refuses to tolerate the religious convictions and practices of a religious group or individual.
Historical perspectives
The intolerance, and even the active persecution of religious minorities (sometimes religious majorities as in modern Bahrain or the Pre-Dutch Indonesian kingdoms), has a long history. Almost all religions have historically faced and perpetrated persecution of other viewpoints.
The modern concept of
Contemporary attitude and practice
The
Other states, whilst not containing constitutional provisions which are directly related to religion, nonetheless contain provisions which forbid discrimination on religious grounds (see, for example, Article 1 of the Constitution of France, article 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and article 40 of the Constitution of Egypt). These constitutional provisions do not necessarily guarantee that all elements of the state remain free from religious intolerance at all times, and practice can vary widely from country to country.
Other countries, meanwhile, may allow for religious preference, for instance through the establishment of one or more
In Nazi Germany, smaller religious minorities such as the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Baháʼí Faith were banned in Germany, while the eradication of Judaism was attempted along with the genocide of its adherents.
Hundreds of religious riots have been recorded, in every decade of independent India. In these riots, the victims have included many Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Christians and Buddhists. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom classified India as Tier-2 in persecuting religious minorities, the same as that of Iraq and Egypt. In a 2018 report, USCIRF charged Hindu nationalist groups for their campaign to "Saffronize" India through violence, intimidation, and harassment against non-Hindus.[5] Approximately one-third of state governments enforced anti-conversion and/or anti-cow slaughter[6] laws against non-Hindus, and mobs engaged in violence against Muslims whose families have been engaged in the dairy, leather, or beef trades for generations, and against Christians for proselytizing. "Cow protection" lynch mobs killed at least 10 victims in 2017.[7][8]
Some countries retain laws which forbid the
The United Nations upholds the right to freely express one's religious beliefs, as listed in the UN's charter, and additionally in articles 2 and 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 2 forbids discrimination based on religious grounds. Article 18 protects the freedom to change one's religion. As a
In North Korea, The regime reportedly continues to repress the religious activities of unauthorized religious groups. North Korea is considered an
In its 2000 annual report on international religious freedom, the
The advocacy group Freedom House produced a report entitled "Religious Freedom in the World" in 2000 which ranked countries according to their religious freedom. The countries receiving a score of 7, indicating those where religious freedom was least respected, were Turkmenistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Myanmar and North Korea. China was given a score of 6 overall, however Tibet was listed separately in the 7 category. Those countries receiving a score of 1, indicating the highest level of religious freedom, were Estonia, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and the United States.[20]
Within those countries that openly advocate religious tolerance there remain debates as to the limits of tolerance. Some individuals and religious groups, for example, retain beliefs or practices which involve acts contrary to established law, such as the use of
In Australia
Religious freedom has developed partly due to the agreeable relationship between religious groups in its society. Several non-governmental organizations promoted tolerance and better understanding among religions in the country, both indigenous and non-indigenous. These groups included the Columbian Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations, the National Council of Churches in Australia and its affiliated Aboriginal and Islander Commission, and the Australian Council of Christians and Jews. In Victoria, Australia the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 makes illegal "conduct that incites hatred against, serious contempt for, or revulsion or severe ridicule of, that other person or class of persons" on the grounds of religious belief.[22]
In 2003, in response to an increase in
See also
- Specific religions
- 2012 Ramu violence
- Anti-Catholicism
- Anti-Christian sentiment
- Anti-cult movement
- Anti-Hinduism
- Anti-Judaism
- Anti-Mormonism
- Anti-Protestantism
- Antisemitism
- Aranthalawa massacre
- Bodh Gaya bombings
- Buddhas of Bamiyan
- Buddhist crisis
- Christian countercult movement
- Conversion of non-Islamic places of worship into mosques
- Demolition of the Babri Masjid
- Destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL
- Discrimination against atheists
- Islamophobia
- Persecution of Baháʼís
- Persecution of Buddhists
- Persecution of Christians
- Persecution of Eastern Orthodox Christians
- Persecution of Hindus
- Persecution of Jews
- Persecution of Muslims
References
- S2CID 93065237.
- ^ Tschentscher, Axel (1995) [28 July 1992]. "Estonia > Constitution". www.servat.unibe.ch. Translated by Martin Scheinin. International Constitutional Law Project. Retrieved 2023-01-02.
- ^ "Constitution of the People's Republic of China". en.people.cn. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
- Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Archived from the originalon September 3, 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (PDF) (Report). U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. April 2018. p. 37.
- ^ "States Where Cow Slaughter is Banned So Far, and States Where it Isn't". 26 May 2017.
- ^ "Tracking mob lynching in two charts". The Hindu. 3 July 2018.
- ^ "India's Got Beef With Beef: What You Need To Know About The Country's Controversial 'Beef Ban'". Forbes.
- ^ "Suspended prison for German who insulted Koran". www.expatica.com. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
- ^ Afghan convert likely to be freed after Karzai intervention Archived January 15, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, by Sardar Ahmad, mq7.net, 26 March 2006, retrieved 28 March 2006
- ^ "Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief". OHCHR.org.
- ^ "International Religious Freedom Act of 1998" Archived 2007-06-08 at the Wayback Machine, 27 January 1998, retrieved 25 May 2007.
- ^ "Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of, and discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against, persons based on religion or belief" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-12-05.
- ^ "URG Policy Report: Combatting global religious intolerance". Universal Rights Group. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
- ISBN 9780761476313. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
North Korea is officially an atheist state in which almost the entire population is nonreligious.
- ISBN 9780671793760. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
Atheism continues to be the official position of the governments of China, North Korea and Cuba.
- ^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. North Korea: International Religious Freedom Report 2007.
- ^ "Aid to the Church in Need | North Korea". Aid to the Church in Need. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
- ^ "United States Commission on International Freedom of Religion" Archived 2005-11-03 at the Wayback Machine, Press Releases 2000, retrieved 25 May 2007.
- ^ "Freedom in the World 2000 | Freedom House". freedomhouse.org. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
- ^ "Official Declaration 1". www.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved 2023-01-02.
- ^ "Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001". www.austlii.edu.au. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
- ^ "Error | ACMA" (PDF). www.acma.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-07-02. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
- ^ "Australia". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
Further reading
- Chopra, R.M., "A Study of Religions", Anuradha Prakashan, New Delhi, 2015 ISBN 978-93-82339-94-6
- Garth Blake, "Promoting Religious Tolerance in a Multifaith Society: Religious Vilification Legislation in Australia and the UK." The Australian Law Journal, 81 (2007): 386–405.
External links
- "New Effort to Ban Religious Hate", BBC News, 11 June 2005 retrieved 25 May 2007