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The paper investigates how the West engaged with the idea and practice of tolerance as it had manifested in other religions and cultures and how does it relate to the historical trajectory through which it became established in the West. The current unquestioned right of freedom of religious belief and worship in the Western world is thus not simply a corollary of secular thought; it is a principle inspired, at least in part by the influence of Islam. Tolerance is a multi-faceted concept comprising moral, psychological, social, legal, political and religious dimensions. The dimension of tolerance addressed by this essay is specifically religious tolerance, such as this principle finds expression within Islamic tradition, and how it came to be enshrined in Western thought after the Enlightenment. The Islamic tradition in principle, as well as in practice, provides compelling answers to many questions pertaining to the relationship between religious tolerance and practice of one's own faith. The lessons drawn from the Islamic tradition reveal that tolerance of Other is in fact integral to the practice of Islam – it is not some optional extra, some cultural luxury, and still less, something one needs to import from some other tradition.

Members of the Church of Scientology face persecution from the German government and its citizens, raising international concern over the rights of religious minorities in a country determined to overcome its Nazi past. The German Constitution provides many protections for religious freedom and also allows a relatively close relationship between church and state. Historically, the German state has been closely intertwined with the traditionally dominant churches, and today Germans enjoy a great deal of freedom of religion. Until very recently, however, the Federal Constitutional Court has not upheld the similar freedom from religion guaranteed by the "establishment clause" in the German Constitution. This large degree of church involvement in the public realm may have led to a narrowing of many Germans' understanding of what constitutes a religion deserving of constitutional protection. In a recent and controversial case, however, the Federal Constitutional Court ordered the removal of crosses and crucifixes from Bavarian classrooms. The Court held that a state policy mandating their presence in all public school classrooms violated the rights of non-Christians to freedom from religion, although the Court did not rely on the "establishment clause" in its holding. This case suggests that, if presented with a case arising from the current treatment of Scientologists, the Federal Constitution Court may defend the Church's right to freedom from majoritarian domination. Nevertheless, this Note suggests that the Court must give a meaningful interpretation of the "establishment cause" to protect the freedom of religious minorities in Germany.

The article argues that in any multiethnic state, one of the main indicators of a democratic society, the state of interethnic relations, internal security and political stability of the country is religious tolerance and interfaith harmony. We are talking about the existence in society of religious tolerance, interethnic harmony, mutual understanding of people of different religions, language, culture, customs, traditions and values of other religions and nationalities, as well as the legal mechanisms that regulate them

IN THIS PAPER, THE AUTHOR PROVIDES A POLITICAL PREFACE TO THE RECOVERY OF A WELL-KNOWN DOMAIN OF PUBLIC CONCERN IN SOUTH ASIA, ETHNIC AND ESPECIALLY RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE, FROM THE HEGEMONIC LANGUAGE OF SECULARISM POPULARIZED BY WESTERNIZED INTELLECTUALS AND MIDDLE CLASSES EXPOSED TO THE GLOBALLY DOMINANT LANGUAGE OF THE NATION-STATE IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD. THIS LANGUAGE, WHATEVER MAY HAVE BEEN ITS POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS TO HUMANE GOVERNANCE AND TO RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE IN THE PAST, INCREASINGLY HAS BECOME A COVER FOR THE COMPLICITY OF MODERN INTELLECTUALS AND THE MODERNIZING MIDDLE CLASSES OF SOUTH ASIA IN THE NEW FORMS OF RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE. THESE ARE THE FORMS IN WHICH THE STATE, THE MEDIA AND THE IDEOLOGIES OF NATIONAL SECURITY, DEVELOPMENT AND MODERNITY PROPAGATED BY THE MODERN INTELLIGENTSIA AND THE MIDDLE CLASSES PLAY CRUCIAL ROLES.

The Balkan Peninsula is a place which brings together several religions: Christianity, Islam and Judaism. In the Early Middle Ages, Europe was shaped by the ancient authentic values of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Not far away, in the regions of Macedonia, Bulgaria and Bosnia, the secret groups of Bogomils were active for several centuries. It is interesting that, even despite the fact that these religions are very similar and originate from a mutual ancient Judaist basis and preach peace as basic ideal, the Balkan has always been reckoned as one of the most conflicting regions in the world. Primarily, it is a result of the religion's essence, especially of the big monotheistic religions that have roots in the Abraham religious heritage. They have firm and immutable world views, strict ethical codex and draw a clear distinction between those who are and those who are not real believers. They must not be a subject to negotiations, compromises and exceptions. When one group of this type meets another, similar one, it is unavoidable that they accuse each other of being heretics and apostates. They are not able to mutually recognize their share in the knowledge of truth. Why? Because if they do that, they will cast doubts on their dogmas. These religions are also very collectivist. They claim that their followers create special and morally superior community. The greatest danger lies in the connection of the nation and the religion. Furthermore, if the Abraham's religions become political factors, they will essentially lead to a permanent conflict with other religions because of their uncompromising views.Keywords: religious tolerance, religious fundamentalism

The author seeks to provide a political preface to the recovery of a well-known domain of public concern in South Asia, ethnic and especially religious tolerance, from the hegemonic language of secularism popularized by westernized intellectuals and middle classes exposed to the globally dominant language of the nation-state in this part of the world. This language increasingly has become a cover for the complicity of modern intellectuals and the moderizing middle classes of South Asia in the new forms of religious violence. (Internat. Pol. Science Assoc.)

There is much evidence that suggests that at the present stage of the development of mankind, tolerance is becoming of much importance, since it is one of the possible ways to overcome social tension and the necessary condition for ensuring peace, security, sustainable social and economic development, building human relations on the principles of equality, mutual understanding, and reciprocal respect. Tolerance is fast becoming the point of much importance for modern world and has always been a point of interest for a wide range of various Social sciences. Tolerance is the subject of political discussions aimed at overcoming world crises and preventing the horrors of ethno-religious conflicts. However, the concept and the problem of tolerance, despite a wide aura of application and frequency of its use in public speeches and media materials, remain open to sociologists, political scientists, teachers and psychologists. In the new global age, the teaching of tolerance is a strategic task of the 21st century education. A primary concern of the paper is our attempt to systematize the factors that influence the formation and development of religious tolerance not only as a declared value, but also as a personal quality. Empirical research has shown that there is an important group of factors determining religious tolerance. The vital aspects are such personal traits as self-awareness and self-identity. We see promising areas of further practical application of the scientific research. In our future studies, we intend to determine possibility of using the results of this paper for a model of religious tolerance formation among university students in the process of liberal arts training. © 2018, Ecozone, OAIMDD. All rights reserved.

While most of early modern Europe was plunged into confessional strife, the central European principality of Transylvania managed to survive the period with no inter-confessional warfare. Rather, the state recognized multiple confessions and allegedly advocated tolerance between them. Drawing from differing theories on the rise of toleration and on the context of early modern Transylvanian history, this article argues that this regime of tolerance arose not due to any enlightened thinking about toleration but out of immediate political necessity. More precisely, the motivation of the Transylvanian elite lay in protecting their nascent state's existence in a dangerous international environment.