Religious intolerance

This article is about intolerance by and between religious communities or by communities of specific practices. For intolerance of religion itself, see Antireligion, Irreligion, and Antitheism.

See also: Religious tolerance

The Somnath Hindu Temple was first attacked by Muslim Turkic invader Mahmud of Ghazni and repeatedly rebuilt after being demolished by more Invaders.

Religious intolerance or religious bigotry 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 religious tolerance developed out of the European wars of religion, more specifically out of the Peace of Westphalia which ended the 30 Years' War (1618–1648), during the Protestant Reformation and the ensuing conflicts between Protestants and Catholics in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. The doctrine of 'religious toleration' was established as a result of the 30 Years' War between the Catholic Hapsburgs and newly Protestant nations like Sweden under Gustavus Adolphus. At this time, rulers sought to eradicate religious sentiments and dogmas from their political demesnes. The 1648 Treaty gave nations the right of sovereignty and it also allowed minority Christian denominations to exist within the Holy Roman Empire.^[1]

Contemporary attitude and practice

A statue of the Buddha at Bamiyan before and after its March 2001 destruction by Taliban forces

The constitutions of some countries contain provisions which expressly forbid the state from engaging in certain acts of religious intolerance and these same provisions also forbid the state from showing a preference for a particular religion within its own borders, examples of such provisions include the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, the Article 4 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, Article 44.2.1 of the Constitution of Ireland, Article 40 of the Estonian Constitution,^[2] Article 24 of the Constitution of Turkey, Article 36 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China,^[3] and Article 3 Section 5 of the Constitution of the Philippines.^[4]

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.

Mughal Emperor Babur demolished Gopalchal rock cut Jain Monuments.

Other countries, meanwhile, may allow for religious preference, for instance through the establishment of one or more state religions, but not for religious intolerance. Finland, for example, has the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and Finnish Orthodox Church as its official state religions, yet upholds the right of free expression of religion in article 11 of its constitution.

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 defamation of religious beliefs. Some constitutions retain laws which forbid all forms of blasphemy (e.g., Germany where, in 2006, Manfred van H. was convicted of blasphemy against Islam).^[9] The connection between intolerance and blasphemy laws is closest when the laws apply to only one religion. In Pakistan blasphemy directed against either the tenets of the Qur'an or the Prophet Mohammed is punishable by either life imprisonment or death. Apostasy, the rejection of one's old religion, is also criminalized in a number of countries, notably Afghanistan with Abdul Rahman being the first to face the death penalty for converting to Christianity. Though, he was later released.^[10]

Welsh Government advisory video: religious hate crime; 2021

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 treaty, not a declaration, is legally binding, the signing of the human rights declaration is a public pledge of commitment.^{[11][clarification needed]} Out of a desire to avoid subservience to an international court, the United States chose in 1998 to pass the International Religious Freedom Act, creating the Commission on International Religious Freedom, and mandating that the United States government take action against any country found to violate the religious freedoms outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.^[12] Human Rights Council in 2011 adopted Resolution 16/18 on "Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of, and discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against, persons based on religion or belief"^[13] which was hailed by stakeholders from all regions and faiths as a turning point in international efforts to confront religious intolerance.^[14] The European Convention on Human Rights, which is legally binding on all European Union states (following the passage of the Human Rights Act 1998 in the United Kingdom), makes restricting the rights of an individual to practice or change their religion illegal in article 9, and discrimination on the basis of religion illegal in article 14.

In North Korea, The regime reportedly continues to repress the religious activities of unauthorized religious groups. North Korea is considered an atheist state,^[15][16] where refugees, defectors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) continued to allege that they witnessed the arrests and execution of members of underground Christian churches by the regime in prior years. Due to the country's inaccessibility and the inability to gain timely information, this activity remains difficult to verify.^[17][18]

In its 2000 annual report on international religious freedom, the U.S. State Department cited China, Myanmar, Iran, Iraq and Sudan for persecuting people for their religious faith and practices. The report, which covers July 1999 through June 2000, details U.S. policy toward countries where religious freedom is violated in the view of the State Department.^[19]

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 cannabis by members of the Rastafari movement, the religious use of eagle feathers by non-Native Americans (contrary to the eagle feather law, 50 CFR 22), or the practice of polygamy amongst the LDS Church in the 19th century.^[21]

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 anti-Islamic sentiment, the HREOC undertook a project involving national consultations on eliminating prejudice against Arab and Muslim citizens. As part of the consultations, the commission considered whether Muslim citizens shared an ethnic origin or race, as well as a religion, which would entitle them to comprehensive protection under the Federal Race Discrimination Act. The commission's report, made public in June 2004, contained no findings on the racial status of Arab and Muslim citizens. In January 2005 the leader of the neo-Nazi Australian Nationalist Movement was connected to incidents in 2004 in which several Asian-owned businesses and a synagogue in Perth were firebombed or sprayed with racist graffiti. On December 11, 2005, there was a riot in the Sydney suburb of Cronulla, that erupted because a group of Lebanese-Australian youths had assaulted two lifeguards.^[23] Demonstrators against the assault displayed anti-Arab and anti-Muslim slogans. When the gathering turned violent, bystanders perceived to be of Middle Eastern origin or Muslim were attacked. The following day, retaliatory vandalism and other assaults were reported around Sydney.^[24]

See also

• Antireligion
• Antitheism
• Demonization
• Forced conversion
• Fundamentalism
• Religious discrimination
• Religious fanaticism
• Religious freedom
• Religious persecution
• Religious tolerance
• Religious violence
• Religious supremacism
• Religious terrorism
• Religious war
• Sectarian violence
• State atheism
• State religion
• Toleration
• Violence against LGBT people#Religious texts

Specific religions

• Anti-cult movement
• Christian countercult movement
• Discrimination against atheists
• Persecution of Baháʼís
• Persecution of Buddhists
• Persecution of Christians
  • Anti-Mormonism
  • Anti-Protestantism
  • Persecution of Eastern Orthodox Christians
  • Anti-Catholicism
  • Anti-Christian sentiment
• Persecution of Hindus
  • Anti-Hinduism
• Persecution of Jews
  • Anti-Judaism
  • Antisemitism
• Persecution of Muslims
  • Islamophobia

Religious nationalism

• • Christian nationalism
  • Islam and nationalism
  • Hindutva
  • Religious Zionism

Specific examples

• 2012 Ramu violence
• Aranthalawa massacre
• Bodh Gaya bombings
• Buddhas of Bamiyan
• Buddhist crisis
• Demolition of the Babri Masjid
• Destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL
• Conversion of non-Islamic places of worship into mosques

References

1. Hobolt, Sara B.; Brug, Wouter Van der; Vreese, Claes H. De; Boomgaarden, Hajo G.; Hinrichsen, Malte C. (2011-09-01). "Religious intolerance and Euroscepticism". European Union Politics. 12 (3): 359–79. doi:10.1177/1465116511404620. ISSN 1465-1165. S2CID 93065237.
2. Tschentscher, Axel (1995) [28 July 1992]. "Estonia > Constitution". www.servat.unibe.ch. Translated by Martin Scheinin. International Constitutional Law Project. Retrieved 2023-01-02.
3. "Constitution of the People's Republic of China". en.people.cn. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
4. "The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines – Article III". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
5. Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (PDF) (Report). U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. April 2018. p. 37.
6. "States Where Cow Slaughter is Banned So Far, and States Where it Isn't". 26 May 2017.
7. "Tracking mob lynching in two charts". The Hindu. 3 July 2018.
8. "India's Got Beef With Beef: What You Need To Know About The Country's Controversial 'Beef Ban'". Forbes.
9. "Suspended prison for German who insulted Koran". www.expatica.com. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
10. 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
11. "Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief". OHCHR.org.
12. "International Religious Freedom Act of 1998" Archived 2007-06-08 at the Wayback Machine, 27 January 1998, retrieved 25 May 2007.
13. "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.
14. "URG Policy Report: Combatting global religious intolerance". Universal Rights Group. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
15. World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia. Marshall Cavendish. September 2007. ISBN 9780761476313. Retrieved 2011-03-05. North Korea is officially an atheist state in which almost the entire population is nonreligious.
16. The State of Religion Atlas. Simon & Schuster. 1993. ISBN 9780671793760. Retrieved 2011-03-05. Atheism continues to be the official position of the governments of China, North Korea and Cuba.
17. 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.
18. "Aid to the Church in Need | North Korea". Aid to the Church in Need. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
19. "United States Commission on International Freedom of Religion" Archived 2005-11-03 at the Wayback Machine, Press Releases 2000, retrieved 25 May 2007.
20. "Freedom in the World 2000 | Freedom House". freedomhouse.org. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
21. "Official Declaration 1". www.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved 2023-01-02.
22. "Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001". www.austlii.edu.au. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
23. "Error | ACMA" (PDF). www.acma.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-07-02. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
24. "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