Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Women in Religion
Tolerance Means Respecting Differences, Not Hiding Them

Tolerance Means Respecting Differences, Not Hiding Them

Last updated on: February 9, 2022 at 9:18 pm by Lois Kerschen

Tolerance Means Respecting Differences, Not Hiding Them 2022-02-09T21:18:34-08:00 Lois Kerschen

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Don’t be afraid to express your convictions! As a pro-life activist for many years, I can testify that you will more likely receive compliments than condemnation.

I’m not saying that front-line workers like the sidewalk counselors don’t get some serious abuse. However, in ordinary situations, you will be surprised at the support you receive.

T-Shirts

A few years ago, I was in Los Angeles at a pro-life conference as a vendor with some religious T-shirts. One woman was interested in buying a T-shirt, but she was worried that it might upset people if she wore it in public, perhaps because it showed images of Christ on both the front and the back.

The message of the shirt was one of hope, a reminder that the tragedy of the Crucifixion led to the glory and joy of the Resurrection. My husband and I assured her that we had worn them to a restaurant the night before and gotten complimented on them by the manager.

As it happened, we wore them to dinner on the Queen Mary the next day too, and a passerby called out to us to say that she liked our shirts.

How sad that we live in a culture where people fear wearing something with a religious message because it might offend someone else. For that matter, why should it be considered offensive in the first place?

I don’t throw a fit when I see someone in a turban, a prayer shawl, or saffron robes. I respect the conviction of his/her faith, and I expect the same in return.

Admittedly, my husband and I normally don’t wear our Christian shirts in public, reserving them for when we are at a Christian event the same way we reserve our baseball t-shirts for when we go to a game.

Nonetheless, none of us should fear making a statement about our religion through our clothes, our jewelry or our bumper stickers.

Bumper Stickers

Speaking of bumper stickers, I have had a Democrats for Life of America (www.democratsforlife.org) bumper sticker on my car for over twenty years. DFLA members sometimes say they are afraid of ugly remarks or damage to their car if they use that sticker.

I am able to tell them that I have never had anyone be openly negative; instead, I have had lots of positive reactions. Still, a well-intentioned aunt told me that maybe I should take it off or “people might not invite you to lunch.”

Photo by Wade Austin Ellis on Unsplash

I’ll admit that being a pro-life Democrat takes some steely courage and determination, but God help me if I am ever so morally timid that I value lunch over propagating an important message.

Perhaps this fear of standing out is why people so readily abandoned observing meatless Fridays when they thought they had an excuse (although most were wrong about that: see my blog https://www.patheos.com/blogs/musingsfromthepew/2021/09/observing-meatless-fridays/); after all, who wants to be identifiably Catholic when they go out to lunch with friends? Catholics aren’t in vogue, and you don’t want to look uncool!

Tolerance, Fanaticism and Convictions

In the push for tolerance, our society seems to have gone overboard. Instead of tolerating and celebrating each other’s differences, it is as if we all have to be the same. We are not supposed to express our beliefs too strongly, or at all, or we will be labeled a fanatic.

Planned Parenthood has capitalized on this sentiment with billboards for their services that say, “No Judgment, Just Care.”

In other words, those religious fanatics will condemn you for your sexual behavior, and they don’t care about you, they just care about the “fetus.” Of course, the reverse is true, but propaganda works by making lies look like truth.

That’s a dangerous situation to create. As Alexander Hamilton said, “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.” If you don’t decide on and live your convictions, you will be a patsy for every con game of the devil out there.

Please, dear readers, don’t ever be afraid to stand up for what you think is right or people who use fear to intimidate will rule your lives and limit what you can say or do.

By the way, the woman bought the shirt.

Previous Post

September 29, 2021

Good Works Evangelize the Faith

Next Post

October 4, 2021 The Benefits of Suffering

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Patheos Catholic Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 July 2026 May 2026 December 2025 November 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 November 2023 September 2023 July 2023 June 2023 February 2023 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said: "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

An angel Jesus (to the church in Ephesus) The Spirit John