'Tolerance is closely related to education'<\/p>\n
Despite the forced closures of a number of churches this year by
\nhard-line Muslim groups, religious tolerance made a come back
\nover Christmas when Muslim organizations helped with security at
\nchurches. The Jakarta Post asked some residents their opinion on
\nthe issue.<\/p>\n
Benny, 25, works at for cellular phone service provider on Jl.
\nGatot Subroto in West Jakarta. He resides with his family in
\nPasar Minggu, South Jakarta:<\/p>\n
Personally, I think religious tolerance in our community is
\nsuperficial. In day-to-day life, we witness more religious
\nintolerance than tolerance. People treat others differently only
\nbecause they have a different religion.<\/p>\n
In my girlfriend's neighborhood in Jagakarsa in South Jakarta,
\nfor instance, I heard recently that some locals took down
\ncirculars posted in public places only because the circulars
\ncontained expressions deemed by those locals as belonging only to
\na particular religion.<\/p>\n
In my opinion, religious tolerance is much related to the
\nlevel of education. The higher a person is educated, the greater
\nthe level of tolerance he\/she has toward others.<\/p>\n
Anton, 30, runs a seasonal parcel business. He lives in
\nPulomas in East Jakarta with his family:<\/p>\n
For the majority of our community, religious tolerance is not
\ndeeply rooted. The word \"tolerance\" is repeatedly used to avoid
\nnegative labels such as hard-liner, fundamentalist and radical.<\/p>\n
In reality, the very people who claim to be tolerant were
\nthose in the front line in the closures of places of worship and
\nrestricting people from exercising their right to worship in
\naccordance with their faith and religion.<\/p>\n
However, we cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that a few
\nreligious groups truly are tolerant toward different religions. I
\nthink most people know which groups are truly tolerant and which
\nare not.<\/p>\n
-- The Jakarta Post<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tolerance-is-closely-related-to-education-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }