SHARED WISDOM

Does Religion Produce Hardliners? Hardliners are not products of authentic religiousness but, rather, of erroneous interpretations of religion. If religion is thought of simply in terms of external forms, it often makes a person a hardliner. However, if religion is understood in terms of its essence and spiritual aspect, it can help people become universal, broadminded, kindhearted, compassionate, and tolerant—and that should be the purpose of following a religion. I believe that religion in itself is not a problem. The problem is the erroneous interpretations of religion by some people and elements. Hence, the exploitation and erroneous interpretation of religion, rather than religion itself, must be overcome. If all Religions Claim they are Right, How can their Adherents Peacefully Coexist? Once, when discussing this point with me, a religious scholar said, “We have been attempting to bring about interreligious harmony for the last one hundred years, but the results have been quite dismal. It would seem that there are insurmountable obstacles in the way.” I replied that the goal we want to attain is certainly a proper one; it is simply that the strategy employed is impracticable. Harmony between adherents of different religions is, without a doubt, a desirable objective. In my view, the only way to achieve this is to encourage people to respect other people’s beliefs and be humanitarian at all times in their