Assignment Two Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assignment Two - Essay Example Christianity, the religion of Jesus Christ and his followers, is frequently described as the most tolerant of the monotheistic religions. Perhaps this is true but Christianity is not without its history of forced conversion, pogroms and religious intolerance. Although the founder of Protestantism and responsible for the historically significant schism within Christianity and the Catholic Church, Martin Luther also displayed a candid intolerance towards people who did not share his religious persuasion. Accordingly, Luther writes that the â€Å"Turks pretend, despite the Holy Scriptures, that they are the chosen people of God, descendents of Ishmael† and argues that they are slanderous, warlike and barbaric. Although his saves much disdain for the Catholic Church, the Muslims people are to be feared and their idolatry is not too be tolerated (Luther 116-117). Roger Williams, an early American settler and founder of what would later become Rhode Island, railed against the Cathol ic Church and Catholicism in general but also preached for a plurality of religious persuasions in the United States. Advocating religious tolerance and diversity in this new land he was a strong proponent of the division between church and state (Williams 117). Accordingly, there is also a strong tradition of religious tolerance in Islam, dating back to the Middle Ages and the Empire of Akbar in the 16th century. Akbar, Mughal Emperor of a vast Muslim-majority empire, represented an era of tolerance and openness to religious other than Islam and presided over a diverse population. Although a Muslim himself and presiding over a larger Muslim population, Akbar also reached out to the Hindus in his Empire and further drew inspiration from the Buddhists, Zoroastrians and other religious denominations in the empire. According to a less than laudatory biographer, Christians were also integrated into the empire and encouraged their beliefs within the dominant