How Did The Us Use Religious Tolerance In The Imperial States

In the ancient world, religious tolerance was mainly in the context of imperial states using it as a political or strategic tactic to hold power within an imperial state ; or as part of religious teachings that forbade the forced conversions of others. In modern times, many sovereign Western countries,including the U.S, have implemented religious tolerance with the aim of multiculturalism and have even codified it. In the Persian context, it was used as a political strategy to help advance his conquests by giving an image of tolerance and vibrancy. In the Ottoman context, forced conversions weren’t practiced because the Quran forbid it. By contrast, the U.S and many other sovereign Western countries have codified this policy for the goal of …show more content…
Evidence of this policy included the release of the Jews from Babylonian captivity and allowed them to return and rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. When new cities were conquered, cities weren’t looted, burned, and temples weren’t defaced. Instead he would go to the temple and pay his respects to the local deities. No one was forced to convert to any religion. The thinking behind this strategy was that people living under a government that allows them to thrive and includes their right to continue living almost as they had been, including keeping their own beliefs, would be less likely to rebel. This tactic was also used to lessen resistance in the city that they aimed to conquer by instilling the belief that despite being under the new management, they would continue to thrive. In contrast, many of these Western countries, there is a large immigrant population, so having a policy of religious tolerance helps ensure peace in the country. The aim for multiculturalism ideally suits the context of a large immigrant population because it allows them to keep their own unique identities and yet co-exist within their new …show more content…
Polytheism was notable for being relatively tolerant to other religious beliefs. Polytheistic gods were not seen as jealous gods, so the gods would only require their own dues being paid to them and not at the exclusion of other gods. One such example was in the Roman Empire. They were fairly tolerant of other religions and even cults, but the only condition was that they would add Roman gods and the emperor to their worship. Jews and Christians were often persecuted because of their refusal to worship other gods. This is not to say that monotheistic faiths were not tolerant of other religions. In the Ottoman empire, most people were not forced to convert to Islam because the Quran forbid conversion. Instead Muslims were to act as messengers merely delivering the teachings of Islam, and it was up to the individuals to either accept or reject the teachings of Islam. This tolerance was relative for only Muslims could hold high offices and followers of other religions had to pay a tax to be exempt from military service. The religious tolerance in many Western societies today, is not based in the teachings of the predominant religion. It is based in a secular philosophy. In the U.S context, religious tolerance is based on the belief that the state should not endorse or promote a single religion as to allow people to carry their own beliefs and unique identities