Q&A: Tolerance toward a Community
Tolerance toward a Community
Question
Hello Rabbi Michael Abraham,
I finished your book Truth and Unstable today (after reading the previous two books straight through), and I want to thank you for all the richness you gave me and for opening up new directions of thought in many areas.
I want to ask about your conception of tolerance. On pp. 342–343, you wrote that only someone who has investigated and formed a position while taking other views into account is entitled to tolerance. Does this condition also apply on the public level? I find it hard to think that when we want to discuss tolerance toward a certain community, we need to check which members of that community have investigated and which have not, and sort them accordingly. Wouldn’t it be more reasonable to adopt tolerance toward any position that is not harmful, by granting autonomy without checking whether the individual person really investigated?
Answer
Tolerance toward a community is indeed more problematic, but there are different levels of tolerance. I would not respect the views of such a community (unless those leading it had examined the positions and formed a considered view), but I usually would not coerce it either (even if I could). As a rule, coercion is not advisable in most cases, even when it is justified. In my remarks I discuss the justification for coercion, but even in cases where it is justified I do not necessarily recommend taking that path.