Is there really tolerant religion?

There are so many religions in this world, I don't know the official count, but I am sure there are many. There is also fierce competition among them to recruit as many subjects as possible, this helps them to increase their popularity and in turn, their income and influence on people's lives. All these religions claim to teach kindness and tolerance, despite this claim, if we look at the history of every major organized religion, we can find many bloody conflicts in the name of God. So, the question that comes to my mind very often is, is there any religion that really teaches tolerance? If yes, then why people following that religion don't practice it? Are all these claims about tolerance and love fake? Do they say this just for marketing and fooling people? It seems they are tolerant and kind as long as you listen to them and follow their rituals without asking any questions, once you do anything against their wish or start asking some uncomfortable questions, then the tolerance evaporates quickly and you face their anger and hate.

Islam and Christianity are very aggressive in their marketing, and because of this, they are very successful. They believe a lot in individual or mass conversions, this is one of the major reasons for their popularity and rapid spread all over the world in such a short time (compared with other major religions like Hinduism and Buddhism). I think once they feel the need to convert somebody that means they are not okay with their original faith or beliefs, they feel those beliefs are wrong, otherwise, what's the need to convert people? All religions are not very kind towards each other's values and traditions. What is called sacred in one religion can be considered as totally blasphemous in another (for example, idol worship). They also claim to teach basically the same thing just because they all believe in the presence of some God, however, this is the only common factor (belief in god) but the rest of everything is radically different from one religion to another. Some of these things are so different that these differences have the potential to create communal riots which result in mass killings in the name of God and this is all done by people practicing religion which they claim teaches tolerance and love. I think these bloody communal conflicts started when a second religion (a competitor to the first) originated and are still going on with no end in sight.

Hinduism claims to be a very tolerant and inclusive religion, it also claims that atheism was also part of it, and this is true only to some extent. It doesn't believe in any conversions, almost each and everything is considered as God (river, mountains, sun, trees, etc.). One can list many good points about Hinduism like many other major religions but it is not free from any blemish. The history of Hinduism is also full of discrimination and violence. The biggest question mark is the issue of casteism. A particular class of society was exploited and tortured in the name of caste for thousands of years. Surprisingly some people still try to defend and justify this system, they refuse to accept that the system was terrible to begin with and allowed shameful exploitation of one class by another class. Buddhism and Jainism give a lot of importance to ahimsa (nonviolence) but then they were associated with some violent regimes and are not willing to consider that some people can have different dietary choices.

Discrimination against women and narrowly defining their role in society is common in the history of all religions. They all try their best to confine women only to particular roles and put very strict rules for their code of conduct. The effect of these teachings is so strong that still we don't see any women occupying any top positions in almost all organized religions or cult movements.

So, the point here is, that I don't see any truly tolerant religion around me. There is no religion that is tolerant of all genders (with equal rights and status), all races, and people with different sexual orientations. Every major religion practiced in the world today definitely has the potential to become inclusive but only if they are willing to get rid of their rigid mindset and sectarian views, but this sounds like an impossible task looking at the way they function now. In their present form most of them have very rigid rules (which are dictatorial in nature) these rules are only useful to exclude, criticize, or ban certain types of people who either don't fit their definition of normal or don't follow their dictate. Many of them have some dark spots in their history and they don't even accept any responsibility and forget about getting an apology.

There is no doubt that religion provides a support system and peace of mind for many even today. Many people need it for the normal functioning of their lives as they feel lost without it. It acts as a lubricant for many and gives them answers to currently unanswerable questions (right or wrong doesn't matter). It reduces their fear of death and does many other things. But in its current form, it does that job only for people who choose to believe in it blindly, without questioning anything, almost like slaves. Many times for others it creates problems and difficulties. There is no place for nonbelievers, skeptics, or people who don't follow all their rules or don't fit into their description of normal or good (like same-sex couples, working women, atheists, critics, etc). One quick glance at the history of any religion should be enough to understand what I mean. Somehow all these religions that claim to teach tolerance and patience are not so patient or tolerant towards criticism directed to their Gods.

So, my wait for a truly tolerant religion that will include everyone, with equal rights for everyone continues, my hope is that maybe one day someone will invent it, and we all will be happy. Some constitutions of democratic countries are very close to this (very inclusive) but unfortunately, no religion in its present form even comes close to them as far as tolerance is concerned. Many of these constitutions provide better rights and protection to everyone and are very tolerant of different views and opinions compared to any scripture out there. I hope major religions will someday take some clue from them and change their attitude, if not then I don't know even if their God can save them from becoming extinct.

 
Thanks for reading and please share your views.

(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)