11 Powerful Photos of Religious Tolerance Around the World

8 hours ago
By Marguerite Ward

A sk a 20-something American what religion means to them, and chances are they'll say something like, "a thing of the past," or, "It’s not important." In fact, 19% of the U.S. population rejects faith and is deeply skeptical about it. This demographic of nonbelievers, also called the "nones" because of their survey responses, is growing faster than any other religion. You’d think religion was on its way out.

The reality is religion is very much alive, and a mixture of hatred and fear of other religions is spurring conflicts across the globe as you read this. Extremist Christian militias in the Central African Republic are waging war on Muslims in an act they call revenge. A controversial book titled The Hindu and Penguin publishing house’s subsequent decision to pull it from shelves have sparked global outrage. A bill in Israel to legally distinguish between Christian and Muslim Arabs is advancing in Israel’s parliament. A flight was grounded yesterday after schoolchildren panicked upon seeing a man (a masters student in Iranian studies) write in Arabic in his notebook. The list goes on.

The global community has the same goal: to stop these conflicts. While those in power need to address these conflicts and stop them where possible, is this enough? Can a mostly responsive strategy, where Band-Aids are applied to broken bones, work in an increasingly diverse world?

Forgiveness, compassion and peace (yes, I am absolutely serious) are more than universal values or world ideals. They're security solutions. Teaching them might be the strongest cure for religious wounds, allowing people to stop the cause of conflict before it starts, foregoing revenge or "justice." If the world doesn’t know what peace looks like, it can’t try to achieve it. Here’s a quick look:

http://www.policymic.com/articles/82841/11-photos-of-religious-tolerance-around-the-world-tell-a-very-different-story