Follow One, Respect All

FOLLOW ONE, RESPECT ALL Today, we live in multi-religious societies. As such, there is only one way to deal with the issue of religious plurality meaningfully, and that is: ‘Follow one, and respect all.’ Today, we all live in plura listic societies. To maintain peace and harmony in such societies, what is required is to promote good thinking and discernment among people, including regarding matters related to religious plurality. A society comprising aware or awakened individuals is one where inter-community harmony can flourish. By promoting awareness among individual members of society regarding religious plurality and the importance of respecting all religions and their adherents, the problem of inter-community conflict can be solved, and intercommunity harmony can be established. Some basic issues that relate to the vital question of properly educating people about the issue of inter-community relations need to be clarified. One of these is the issue of religious differences. A comparative study of the various religions shows clear theological differences between them. For instance, the belief system of some religious communities is based on monism, while that of some others is based on monotheism. Some religions preach the discovery of truth by oneself, while others believe that truth is revealed to human beings by God through Messengers appointed by Him. And so on. Some people think these religious differences and distinctions are the root cause of conflicts between religious