"Religious tolerance is not religious indifference. It consists of valuing the right of another person to hold beliefs that you know absolutely to be wrong" Anonymous.
Throughout the short history of mankind, some 6,000 years, humans have struggled and fought in an effort to ensure that their own religious freedoms be protected. Unfortunately for some, their religious freedoms have been encroached upon and quelled by those who have beliefs that their own religion is the only true religion. This belief is based on religious teachings that they have the duty to persecute those whose religious beliefs are different than their own. As the newly appointed head of the United Nations Commission on Human Social Evolution it is my belief, and I believe it should become our collective goal, to teach religious tolerance to all the peoples of the world. Some would claim that this is an unrealistic goal and that most of the people of the world, because of their own religious biases, would not support such an endeavor. In response to any nonsupport I say this; all we have to do is look at the history of man, beginning as early as ancient Rome, and most would come to see that religious persecution and fervor has been a curse on modern society. .
Perhaps the only true example of religious tolerance can be seen in ancient Rome. Before the emergence of the Roman Empire each tribe had its own gods and goddesses. As new members joined the tribes they were encouraged to give up any old beliefs and accept the tribe's deities. As the tribes evolved into an empire, the beliefs of the people encompassed the religious ideas of many divergent peoples. During most of the Roman period the civil government enforced religious tolerance. Greek and Roman Pagan religions, Christianity, Judaism, Mithraism and various mystery religions all survived and flourished as a result. The Roman government asked only that all citizens perform certain routine civic duties.
