Why tolerance is not a virtue at Catholic universities

Last updated on: September 16, 2014 at 3:32 pm by Tim Muldoon

Why tolerance is not a virtue at Catholic universities 2014-09-16T15:32:08-04:00 Tim Muldoon

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.

Theologian Aurelie Hagstrom writes in Integritas:

I think it is vitally important to remember that mere “tolerance” is not true dialogue. Hospitality is much more engaging, risky, and costly than the mere tolerance of diversity is. Mere tolerance cannot sustain our communities or our conversations in moments of crisis or deep disagreement. Hospitality, by contrast, is incarnational. It does not exist as a disembodied attitude toward others, like tolerance, but is instead a practice of bringing strangers and guests into a ritual of peaceful engagement. Hospitality takes the identity, story, and tradition of the guest seriously as a foundation for table fellowship and meaningful dialogue.

One reason why Catholic universities are, in fact, universities rather than multiversities–that is, shopping malls of different disciplines that have nothing to say to each other–is because of their practice of hospitality. Like Thomas Aquinas integrating the insights of Jewish and Muslim interlocutors, Catholic universities strive simply to know what is true, regardless of the source of insight. Happily, Catholic anthropology very comfortably recognizes that all human beings, created in the image and likeness of God, can be sources.

Previous Post

September 12, 2014

Suppressing religious free speech

Next Post

September 18, 2014 Of science and other humanities

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category academic freedom Catholic intellectual tradition epigenetics humanities mission politics science teaching Theology Uncategorized university life

Select a Month November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does the Sword of the Spirit represent?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The Holy Spirit The power of prayer The Word of God Faith