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Toleration is when one allows or permits an action, idea, object, or person that they dislike or disagree with.
Political scientist Andrew R. Murphy explains that "We can improve our understanding by defining 'toleration' as a set of social or political practices and 'tolerance' as a set of attitudes."[1] Random House Dictionary defines tolerance as "a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, beliefs, practices, racial or ethnic origins, etc., differ from one's own".[2] The Merriam-Webster Dictionary associates toleration both with "putting up with" something undesirable, and with neglect or failure to prevent or alleviate it.[3]
Both these concepts contain the idea of alterity: the state of otherness.[4] Additional choices of how to respond to the "other", beyond toleration, exist. Therefore, in some instances, toleration has been seen as "a flawed virtue" because it concerns acceptance of things that were better overcome.[4] Toleration cannot, therefore, be defined as a universal good, and many of its applications and uses remain contested.[4]: 2
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".[5] Historically, most incidents and writings pertaining to religious toleration involve the status of minority and dissenting viewpoints in relation to a dominant state religion.[6] However, religion is also sociological, and the practice of toleration has always had a political aspect as well.[7]: xiii
Toleration assumes a conflict over something important that cannot be resolved through normal negotiation without resorting to war or violence.[citation needed] As political lecturer Catriona McKinnon explains, when it comes to questions like what is "the best way to live, the right things to think, the ideal political society, or the true road to salvation, no amount of negotiation and bargaining will bring them to an agreement without at least one party relinquishing the commitments that created the conflict in the first place. Such conflicts provide the circumstances of toleration... [and] are endemic in society."[8]: 6 "The urgency and relevance of this issue is only too obvious: without tolerance, communities that value diversity,[9] equality, and peace could not persist."[10][4]: 1
An examination of the history of toleration includes its practice across various cultures. Toleration has evolved into a guiding principle, finding contemporary relevance in politics, society, religion, and ethnicity. It also applies to minority groups, including LGBT individuals. It is closely linked to concepts like human rights.
- ^ Murphy, Andrew R. (1997). "Tolerance, Toleration, and the Liberal Tradition". Polity. 29 (4). The University of Chicago Press Journals: 593–623. doi:10.2307/3235269. JSTOR 3235269. S2CID 155764374.
- ^ "Definition of tolerance". dictionary.com. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
- ^ Merriam-Webster Dictionary, tolerate verb, accessed 13 February 2024
- ^ a b c d van Doorn, Marjoka (2014). "The nature of tolerance and the social circumstances in which it emerges". Current Sociology. 62 (6): 905–927.
- ^ Zagorin, Perez (2003). How the Idea of Religious Toleration Came to the West. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-09270-6. OCLC 50982270.
- ^ Vahland, Joachim (2017). "Tolerance discourses". Zeno. No. 37. pp. 7–25.
- ^ Gervers, Peter; Gervers, Michael; Powell, James M., eds. (2001). Tolerance and Intolerance: Social Conflict in the Age of the Crusades. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-2869-9.
- ^ McKinnon, Catriona (2006). Toleration: A Critical Introduction. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-32289-8.
- ^ "Diversity As A Core Value – What Does It Mean To Value Diversity?". emexmag.com. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- ^ Vogt, W.P. (1997). Tolerance & Education: Learning to Live with Diversity and Difference. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, Inc.