Towards understanding (religious) (in)tolerance in education

• Published in: Hervormde teologiese studies Vol. 70; no. 3; pp. 1 - 08
• Main Authors: Potgieter, Ferdinand J., Van der Walt, Johannes L., Wolhuter, Charste C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pretoria African Online Scientific Information Systems (Pty) Ltd t/a AOSIS 26-02-2014; AOSIS (Pty) Ltd; Reformed Theological College of the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Pretoria and Society for Practical Theology in South Africa; AOSIS
• Subjects: Education; intolerance; modus vivendi; Pedagogy; Religion; religious; Religious aspects; Religious education; Religious tolerance; Schools; Study and teaching; tolerance; United Kingdom; United Kingdom
• ISSN: 0259-9422; 2072-8050; 2072-8050
• DOI: 10.4102/hts.v70i3.1977

In recent years, schools and education authorities world wide have been paying increasing attention to issues surrounding diversity and religious (in)tolerance. The term 'tolerance' is, however, clouded by considerable confusion and vagueness. This article seeks to contribute to recent scholarly attempts at understanding (religious) tolerance and the term that denotes it. After a brief semantic analysis of the term 'tolerance', arguments concerning the onticity of tolerance as phenomenon or entity are discussed. By examining its onticity we explore and explain some of the essential features of tolerance. The article ends with a brief discussion of some of the implications of our examination that we foresee for (religion) education.