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Is Tolerance A Virtue?

Is Tolerance A Virtue?

Last updated on: November 24, 2024 at 12:39 pm by David Schloss

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Is Tolerance A Virtue? 2024-11-24T12:39:42-05:00 David Schloss

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Tolerance and Diversity

Art By Gerd Altmann.

Our modern times place a great emphasis on tolerance. In an age of political correctness, tolerance is seen as a great virtue for one to possess. But, is it? Should Catholics seek to cultivate tolerance?

In this paper, I want to examine tolerance in relation to the Catholic teaching on virtue.

What Is Virtue?

“Virtue is a good habit consonant with our nature.” – Saint Augustine.

A narrow definition of virtue refers to the quality of courage or fortitude. However, Catholicism takes a much more expansive view of virtue, generally defining it as a habit of the soul that disposes a person to act appropriately in accordance with one’s nature.

In building on this understanding of virtue, Catholic moral theology enumerates seven specific virtues. These, in turn, are further categorized as cardinal and supernatural virtues.

The cardinal virtues of prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice are habits that can be developed through education and repetitive actions. The supernatural virtues, however, can only be obtained through the grace of God. These are faith, hope, and charity (that is, love).

While it is evident that tolerance is not mentioned as a virtue, is it possible to place it within one of the seven virtues?

On Tolerance

The term “tolerance” is widely used in the age of political correctness. The word is generally defined as “the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with.” (Simpson, John A. Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 2002).

If we take a more philosophical approach, toleration signifies patient forbearance in the presence of an evil that one is unable or unwilling to prevent.

Even though the word’s definition suggests a negative connotation, tolerance is widely applauded in today’s society. To be sure, there is much to recommend the quality of tolerance in a pluralistic society. Tolerance is essential to maintain a certain level of peace and allow various opinions to form. Still, the question remains as to whether tolerance can be considered a virtue.

No Virtue In Tolerance?

It seems to me that to consider whether tolerance is a virtue, it is necessary to determine whether tolerance can be placed under the auspices of any of the seven virtues.

It is self-evident that tolerance does not belong to the virtues of faith, hope, or fortitude. Therefore, we must examine four virtues to determine if tolerance can be included among them.

The third supernatural virtue is charity, which is translated as love. From a theological perspective, love means to will the good of another, independent of one’s own wishes. At first blush, it seems possible that tolerating a behavior or opinion one disagrees with is a form of love. However, tolerance involves some form of evil that love can not abide. (See 1 Corinthians 13:6-7). Therefore, we can not equate love and tolerance.

Prudence is the virtue of discerning the correct action in any given situation. To prevent an impulsive decision, a prudent person will take the time to consider all possible options and their outcomes. In addition, prudence dictates that we pray for guidance while also seeking counsel from others. It is not clear how tolerance can be considered under the virtue of prudence.

Temperance is that virtue by which we find balance in our appetites and passions and where we practice moderation in our use of created goods and our conduct with people. The practice of temperance enables us to avoid misusing things or even other people to satisfy our selfish desires, which are not of God. Instead, it helps us to put others before ourselves.

Moreover, temperance requires a self-mastery of the will so as to subordinate our baser instincts to the rational soul. Likewise, temperance also calls for us to tend to our physical and spiritual well-being. Again, it seems that tolerance does not fall under the virtue of temperance.

The last virtue to consider is justice. Catholicism defines justice as giving God and neighbor what is rightly their due. One does God justice by correctly ordering one’s life to Him and properly worshipping God. (See Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 1807).

Being just to our neighbors is predicated on acknowledging that everyone is made in the image of God. By the very nature of this fact alone, practicing the virtue of justice means treating everyone with dignity and respect. This entails respecting the rights of each person and establishing harmony in human relationships that promotes equity concerning persons and the common good.

It appears that within the virtue of justice, one finds something resembling the definition of tolerance. If treating everyone with dignity and respect – even people we disagree with – is within the definition of justice, then it seems reasonable to place tolerance under the umbrella of the virtue of justice.

However, tolerance as a property of justice must be accepted with many limitations. Neither justice in particular nor virtue in general can be considered to accept evil. It is one thing to tolerate differences in opinions and preferences. It is quite another thing to tolerate sin and evil.

Conclusion

Tolerance has become an increasingly polarized concept. In a hyper-politicized era, tolerance is often considered the sine qua non of civic life.

However, from a Catholic perspective, tolerance is seen as acquiescing to evil. Indeed, if virtue comprises the habitual acting out of what is good, then tolerance can not be considered a virtue within the context of Catholic ethics. Nevertheless, in this paper, I have suggested that it is possible to understand tolerance within the virtue of justice, albeit in a limited way.

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