Religious tolerance is a term that it tied closely to religious freedom. If a society extends tolerance to followers of all religions -- and to followers of no religion -- then everyone will probably enjoy religious freedom. "Religious tolerance," as it is most commonly defined, means that people:
Extend religious freedom to people of all religious traditions, even though they probably disagree with most of their beliefs and/or practices.
This definition does not require a person or group to:
Accept all religions as equally true.
Refrain from comparing the beliefs and practices of different religions or faith groups.
Refrain from comparing the religious beliefs and practices with the findings of science.
Avoid criticizing actions, statements, and policies of religious groups when those activities harm others.
Thomas Jefferson expressed religious tolerance when he said:
"...it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg."
A common definition used by some fundamentalist and other evangelical Christians is that to be religiously tolerant means that one must accept all religions as equally true. As a result, "religious tolerance" has a very negative connotation to many religious conservatives even as it has a very positive meaning to others.
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