No need to 'respect' religions | Columnists | Opinion | Toronto Sun

And guess what? That’s OK. The multi-faith crowd don’t want you to know this, but we were never meant to “respect” each others’ religions. We’re simply meant to tolerate them. Two starkly different approaches.
English philosopher John Locke’s 1689 Letter Concerning Toleration was about those who “persecute, torment, destroy, and kill other men upon pretence of religion.”
It was about not assaulting people for their beliefs. (The West has finally figured this out. The Rest? Not so much).
The group hug of mutual respect never entered the equation. Nor should it. It confuses the public square with the private sphere.
There’s something deeply immature about the whole multi-faith scene. It’s like that needy kid in junior high who just can’t fathom why he’s not absolutely loved by everyone.
To paraphrase Walt Whitman, does humanity conflict with itself? Very well. It’s large. It contains multitudes.
via No need to ‘respect’ religions | Columnists | Opinion | Toronto Sun.