Heretics and Heathens: Toleration across History

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

As the story often goes, much of human history was consumed by brutal religious conflict. This changed only during the Enlightenment, when Europeans began to embrace the virtue of tolerance, first of other Christians, and then of all religions and none. Though this sweeping narrative does capture a significant shift in the values upheld by the West, it smooths over the practical aspects of religious coexistence. Long before the rise of tolerance, communities have struggled to find ways to live with the religious other in their midst. Moreover, as modern history has proven time and again, even the highest ideals of tolerance do not nullify the friction created by contact between different faiths and creeds. This course, therefore, considers the long history of toleration, both as it existed prior to the modern era, and how it has changed since the days of Spinoza, Locke, and Voltaire. Though our primary focus will be on Christianity, we will also discuss other models of coexistence practiced in the Americas, Africa, and Asia, as well as how these systems collided in the age of European colonialism. As we approach the present day, we will examine how toleration intersects with issues of racism, secularism, and fundamentalism, and ask whether historical experiences of coexistence have anything to teach us about how to live in peace with neighbors whose beliefs differ from our own.