Creating Tolerance and World Peace

Posts Tagged ‘Religion’

What does it mean to be tolerant? Tolerance has several different definitions, but is basically defined as having a “permissive attitude” towards others. This is in reference to others who have a differing opinion from you, different religious beliefs, different race, nationality, or different practices than your own. Another definition of tolerance refers to having the ability or capacity to endure.

So does tolerance mean you must change your opinions, your religious beliefs, or your pride in your own nationality or race? Absolutely not! It is simply learning to get along. Learning to allow others to have the same rights to their opinions, beliefs, pride in their nationality or race, etc. Too often you see others trying to bend other’s thoughts and beliefs to fit with their own. It can be difficult to understand another person’s culture, religion, etc., but just because it is different than your own does not make it wrong or even strange.

So why do so many people find it so difficult to be tolerant of the differences in other people? Could it be that it makes them uncomfortable, and it is human nature to want to be comfortable when you are uncomfortable? One way to get past some of the misgivings of other’s differences is to take the time to learn more about them. It is every person’s responsibility to look at their own lives and their own feelings to determine why they would have intolerance for someone else. What could be the reasons behind ones negative feelings?

We are each responsible for ourselves. It is up to each individual to take the time to learn more about the people around them to become more tolerant and accepting of the differences in others. Once we have learned to be more tolerant of the people around us, we must teach our children the same principles of tolerance, which will in turn lead to a more peaceful world for us all.

There are often times that someone new comes into the work place. In most jobs there is a considerable amount of turnover and that can result in new employees coming in who might be a bit different than you would expect. So the question becomes, how do you deal with employees that are different in their culture to you or your co-workers. Hopefully you are an open minded and tolerant person but in this society there are many people who unfortunately aren’t as tolerant. But if you keep in mind a few things you might be able to get past the differences and form a great new friendship.

The first thing to do is to remember that what might be different to you is not different to them. Religion is a big idea where this is concerned. Perhaps you are a Christian person who believes in Jesus Christ but encounter a Hindu person who does not believe in Jesus. While you may find this uncomfortable or abnormal you must keep in mind that the other person might find your belief uncomfortable or adnormal. This doesn’t make either belief right or wrong it simply means that both parties need to understand that there are a million and one different beliefs, thoughts, and theories out there.

The next thing you might want to try doing is talking to the other person about their beliefs. It’s important to make sure that you are not judging them or making them feel attacked but if the conversation veers its way in that direction then it might be a good opportunity to talk to your co-worker about their beliefs and their customs. The more you know about something, even if it is something you might not personally believe in or agree with, the less scary it is and the less likely it is to cause issues between you and your co-worker. The more you know and understand about a persons background the better off you will be when it comes to working with them.