Mutual respect key to peace in pluralistic society

Mutual respect key to peace in pluralistic society

I REFER to Monday's letter by Dr Thio Su Mien, "Militant religionism? It's family values", in which she states that my letter - "Militant religionism the real threat to social harmony" last Saturday - "incites anti-religious hostility, threatening social disharmony".

This is a serious allegation.

First and foremost, let me state that I have nothing against Christianity or Christian values. I am a committed Christian who went through a few years of full-time theological education to secure a Master of Divinity. A fair-minded reader should notice that nothing in my letter was written against Christianity or any religion. I specifically mentioned that "militant Christians" are only a minority among the broader Christian community and therefore, I am not criticising the Christian community as a whole.

My letter also did not demonise Christian values and mainstream values. It was targeted not at religions in general but at "militant religionism", which refers to a type of religious position that does not respect the freedom of others to have the space to speak out and live out their different moral values in our pluralistic society.

Let us all adopt an attitude of mutual respect and mutual understanding because these are important ingredients for peace and harmony in our pluralistic society and secular state.

John Hui Yip Khiong

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28024.570