November 2011
Education is Key to Nurturing Religious Tolerance
IRLA leader urges educators to place greater emphasis on teaching acceptance of religious differences
The future of inter-religious tolerance and harmony may well rest, in large part, on the shoulders of today’s educators, says Dr. John Graz, Secretary General of the International Religious Liberty Association.
“The young, impressionable minds of young people are open to be nurtured toward tolerance or intolerance—toward seeking to understand others of different faiths, or toward fanaticism,” he says. “It’s difficult to overestimate the tremendous responsibility carried by educators—especially those of primary-age students—in shaping tomorrow’s global landscape when it comes to religious discrimination, intolerance and conflict.”
Dr. Graz’s comments follow the release last week of a study which found that Pakistan’s public schools and privately-run madrassas use textbooks which serve to underline religious differences, rather than encourage greater understanding and acceptance of people of different faiths. The study, undertaken by the International Center for Religious and Diplomacy, was based on interviews with teachers, visits to classrooms, and a review of curriculum. It found that children’s textbooks in grades 1 to 10 contained a significant amount of inaccurate information and derogatory descriptions of non-Islamic religions, including Hinduism, Christianity and Judaism. Researchers concluded that Pakistan’s education system provides inadequate teaching about religious tolerance and acceptance of religious minorities.
“It would be a mistake to assume that this is simply a problem in Pakistan or that the temptation to paint minorities in negative terms belongs to just one religious tradition,” says Dr. Graz. “There is much more that can be done—even in countries where protection of religious freedom is strong—to actively nurture a sense of religious tolerance in young minds.”
“Perhaps the most important step we can take today toward reducing interreligious conflict is in how we teach our children—in our schools, our churches and within our families,” says Dr. Graz, “and each one of us shares in this responsibility.”
[Bettina Krause/IRLA]
Congress Sets New Deadline For Funding of Religious Freedom Body
Bipartisan watchdog agency plays "vital global role," says IRLA deputy secretary general
A temporary funding bill, passed November 17, allows the US Commission on International Religious Freedom to continue operating for another month while Congress considers the future of this bipartisan body charged with advising the US government on current issues of religious freedom. So far, agreement in Congress has proved elusive—a two-year funding bill for USCIRF was passed by the House last month, but stalled in the Senate.
The key issues of contention relate to budget—which some in Congress want to slash significantly—and a proposal to reduce the number of commissioners who would be appointed to the body.
USCIRF was created by Congress 13 years ago to promote religious freedom overseas, and it operates as an independent, bi-partisan organization that investigates and reports on global religious freedom violations. Since its inception, USCIRF has worked to keep the US State Department, the White House, and Congress up to date on current religious freedom issues. At times, though, the body has also generated controversy—either through accusations that it’s too focused on Christian victims of persecution or that it lacks sufficient oversight and accountability to Congress.
In spite of its past difficulties, USCIRF has a vital role in keeping the religious freedom violations before US policymakers, according to Attorney Dwayne Leslie, IRLA deputy secretary general. “We’re hopeful that Congress will soon pass a reauthorization bill that will ensure the long-term survival of this important body,” he says. [Bettina Krause/IRLA]