"Every religious group, while perhaps a majority somewhere, is also inevitably a minority somewhere else. Thus, religious organizations should and do show tolerance toward members of other religious denominations"
About this Quote
Russell M. Nelson frames religious tolerance as both a moral and a practical necessity. Majority status is not fixed; it shifts with borders and time. A community that is dominant in one region is vulnerable in another. That shared precariousness invites empathy and creates a strong incentive to defend the rights of others, because those same rights safeguard one’s own people when contexts change.
The perspective grows from a global view of faith. Catholics can be a cultural majority in parts of Latin America yet a minority in some Asian settings. Muslims are a majority in many countries but a minority in India and the West. Buddhists hold sway in Myanmar and Thailand yet are small communities elsewhere. Jews are a minority nearly everywhere; Hindus outside South Asia often are too. Latter-day Saints are numerous in Utah yet small in most of the world. The lesson is reciprocal: if you want space to live your faith with integrity when you are the smaller flock, you should defend that space for others when you are not.
Nelson speaks from a tradition that knows both sides. The history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints includes episodes of expulsion and violence, experiences that sharpen a commitment to religious freedom. As a global church leader, he has advocated a principle often expressed as fairness for all: robust protection of religious conscience alongside equal dignity for those who believe differently or not at all. Tolerance here is not relativism; it does not require surrendering doctrine. It asks for respect, civility, and the refusal to use power to coerce belief.
The claim also carries a corrective edge. Religious groups do not always live up to this ideal, and when they fail, they undermine the very protections they need elsewhere. Pluralism endures when communities practice the golden rule of conscience: safeguard for others what you most cherish for yourself.
The perspective grows from a global view of faith. Catholics can be a cultural majority in parts of Latin America yet a minority in some Asian settings. Muslims are a majority in many countries but a minority in India and the West. Buddhists hold sway in Myanmar and Thailand yet are small communities elsewhere. Jews are a minority nearly everywhere; Hindus outside South Asia often are too. Latter-day Saints are numerous in Utah yet small in most of the world. The lesson is reciprocal: if you want space to live your faith with integrity when you are the smaller flock, you should defend that space for others when you are not.
Nelson speaks from a tradition that knows both sides. The history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints includes episodes of expulsion and violence, experiences that sharpen a commitment to religious freedom. As a global church leader, he has advocated a principle often expressed as fairness for all: robust protection of religious conscience alongside equal dignity for those who believe differently or not at all. Tolerance here is not relativism; it does not require surrendering doctrine. It asks for respect, civility, and the refusal to use power to coerce belief.
The claim also carries a corrective edge. Religious groups do not always live up to this ideal, and when they fail, they undermine the very protections they need elsewhere. Pluralism endures when communities practice the golden rule of conscience: safeguard for others what you most cherish for yourself.
Quote Details
| Topic | Faith |
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