Reply #12: Necessity

[Az]

We are a complex diverse society. The chaos that would arise if we allowed our belief systems to go to their natural prediliction for destroying opposing beliefs would be astounding.

This exactly what gave rise the Age of Enlightenment. Nations used to be far more homogenous. One people. One society. One belief. But as we expanded in reach and understanding societies began to intermingle. As societies became more diverse the stresses of competing beliefs brought the efficiency of the structures to a crawl. Constant struggle and warfare between comepeting beliefs became the norm.

It was this environment that gave rise to the concepts of tolerance and acceptance of those that do not agree with us. We had to learn to deal with each other as humans first instead of based on our beliefs. The Age of Reason is also the birth of the Humanist Revolution. The idea that all humans have the right to believe as they may and that we must learn to deal with each other fairly first.

Tolerance is an unnatural condition for belief systems. They compete for social territory. Thus a constant drone to drive out nonbelievers still inundates society. Without champions for tolerance and reason these ideals will fade. There are no institutions demanding people believe in reason and tolerance. There are institutions demanding people believe in their absolute moral authority.

Learn from history or repeat it.