The Truth About Tolerance: Pluralism, Diversity and the Culture Wars [Paperback]

Brad Stetson (Author), Joseph G. Conti (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 2005

We all want to be tolerant. No one wants to be intolerant. But does that mean we have to accept all truth claims as true? Does this virtue rule out having any strongly held moral convictions? In this book Brad Stetson and Joseph G. Conti explore the use and misuse of this important value in academic circles and popular media. They note that the pursuit of truth and the pursuit of tolerance are often taken to be mutually exclusive, and it ends with truth having to give way to tolerance. Stetson and Conti argue just the opposite: that true tolerance requires the pursuit of truth. In the end they demonstrate that Christian conviction about religious truth provides the only secure basis for a tolerant society which promotes truth seeking. Christians can contribute to civil debate without compromising their moral and spiritual convictions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The authors sound a call for their readers to engage in genuine tolerance, a tolerance that more accurately reflects the ideals of Jesus Christ. If the reader genuinely cares about other people, this is a must read. (Ronald Gary Belsterling, The Journal of Youth Ministry, Fall 2008 )

"We aren't as tolerant as we think we are--and genuine tolerance will emerge only when we no longer tolerate our many forms of pseudo-tolerance. Stetson and Conti demonstrate the need for a new culture of tolerance, where virtue governs our disagreements about the things that matter most. They've produced an astute commentary on contemporary culture, a rousing admonition to witness to truth with humility and respect, and an inspiring set of principles to guide the way." (R. Douglas Geivett, Professor of Philosophy, Biola University, La Mirada, California )

"Stetson and Conti address, with rigor and clarity, the use and misuse of the term tolerance in our popular culture. Too often what goes by the name tolerance is just another dogma with a smiley face. Stetson and Conti take the mask off, and enlighten us in the process." (Francis J. Beckwith, Associate Professor, and Associate Director of the J. M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies, Baylor University )

"The pursuit of tolerance has become today's highest virtue. But Stetson and Conti show that today's promoters of tolerance--using an Orwellian doublespeak--are cleverly advancing an ideology that is itself intolerant. This book will inform and edify every reader." (Alvin J. Schmidt, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Illinois College, author of Under the Influence: How Christianity Transformed Civilization )

"Leftists would have us believe that a culture war is going on between tolerant secularists and intolerant Christians. Not so. As Stetson and Conti recognize, the conflict is really between two rival views of tolerance. One view is relativist--it says the best foundation for tolerance is not thinking you know anything. The other view is realist--it says you have to know something in order to judge what is tolerable. Guess who the real oppressors are. Not who you've been told; the relativist view of tolerance turns out to be authoritarianism in disguise. Great book; I hope it's read widely." (J. Budziszewski, Professor of Government and Philosophy, University of Texas, and author of What We Can't Not Know: A Guide )

"Since the concept of tolerance is so abused and misunderstood today, this book is very pertinent. The authors wisely survey the social and political landscape and chart a Christian view of tolerance that is biblical and well informed. The book should make a significant contribution to the discourse and be of great help to many Christians desiring to make their voices heard in a winsome and genuinely tolerant manner." (Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy, Denver Seminary )

About the Author

Brad Stetson (Ph.D., University of Southern California) has written widely on social and political topics. His previous books include The Silent Subject: Reflections on the Unborn in American Culture (1996) and Human Dignity and Contemporary Liberalism (1998). He is a coauthor of Challenging the Civil Rights Establishment (with Joseph G. Conti, Praeger Publishers, 1993) and Black and Right (with Joseph G. Conti and Stan Faryna, Praeger Publishers, 1997). Stetson's articles have appeared in Christianity Today, First Things, The Los Angeles Times and several other periodicals. He currently lectures in American politics at Azusa Pacific University and in rhetoric at Chapman University.

Joseph G. Conti earned a Ph.D. in religion and social ethics at the University of Southern California. A lecturer in religious studies at California State University--Fullerton, he has also taught at the University of Southern California, Kansas City Community College (Kansas), Longwood Community College (Kansas), Western Missouri State University, the University of San Francisco and California State University--Long Beach. He is also a coauthor of Challenging the Civil Rights Establishment (with Brad Stetson, Praeger Publishers, 1993) and Black and Right (with Brad Stetson and Stan Faryna, Praeger Publishers, 1997).

Product Details

• Paperback: 207 pages
• Publisher: IVP Academic; Print On Demand Edition edition (February 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830827870
• ISBN-13: 978-0830827879
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,194 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #83 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Ethics

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The new tolerance is not worth tolerating, January 4, 2006

By 

William Muehlenberg (Melbourne Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Truth About Tolerance: Pluralism, Diversity and the Culture Wars (Paperback)

This book is about how a good concept - tolerance - has been redefined and subverted by the secular left. Tolerance, properly understood, is a useful personal and social good. But stripped of its original meaning, it has become a weapon in the culture wars.

Tolerance originally meant being able to respect a person while disagreeing with their ideas, beliefs or behaviors. Today it has come to mean accepting what your opponent says, believes or does. If someone today objects to something like abortion on demand or same-sex marriage, he or she is labeled as intolerant, bigoted and narrow-minded.

Thus any person who now expresses an opinion or makes a moral critique which does not fit in with our politically correct culture is deemed to have committed the gravest of sins: being intolerant. But as the authors show, the ability to exercise moral discernment and make critical evaluations is at the heart of genuine democracy and the social good.

By demanding conformity to the values regime of the secular left, the goal posts in value making have been shifted. The authors show that the new tolerance is closely aligned with moral relativism and the postmodern distrust of truth. But without true truth and moral absolutes, the entire concept of tolerance becomes meaningless.

We can only tolerate something if we do not agree with it in the first place. We do not tolerate something we like or agree with. But if there is no absolute truth, and moral values are simple subjective preferences, then convictions and beliefs become mere preferences and tastes. No one needs to tolerate another person's preference for chocolate ice cream. No one needs to tolerate another person's taste for classical music.

If all beliefs and moral claims are mere matters of choice and preference, then tolerance no longer is necessary. If we accept the postmodern belief that all truth is self-created, then no one has a right to challenge any belief, or make any moral judgment. In which case, we have nothing left to be tolerant of.

Indeed, as the authors point out, the "belief in truth as subjectivity short-circuits discussion" and makes genuine social interaction impossible. Tolerance only functions in a setting where real dialogue, debate and intellectual sparring is allowed to take place.

The authors show that the secular left has used the notion of tolerance to push their own agenda. The new relativists argue that believers who insist on moral values are being intolerant and exclusive, yet they demand a whole set of their own moral absolutes, be it the right to abortion, complete choice in all matters sexual, and so on. Thus in their appeal to moral relativism to silence the so-called religious right, they make their own appeal to fundamental moral values: tolerance, neutrality, pluralism, etc. They want to have their cake (there are no moral absolutes) and eat it too (their moral values should be absolutely adhered to).

Moreover, tolerance itself is not an absolute There are some things that we should not tolerate. It is neither tolerant nor civil to stand by while a woman is raped or some crime is being committed. True tolerance means the making of moral judgments and sound evaluations.

The authors conclude by reminding us that the secular left has high-jacked the concept of tolerance to promote its own ideological agenda. They seek not just to separate church from state, but religion from society. In the process, they are imposing their own secular values on the rest of society, all in the name of tolerance. But as the authors document, often the most intolerant people today are those who shout loudest for tolerance.

True tolerance is a virtue and should be practiced, both privately and publicly. But as the authors make clear, a new type of tolerance - really an imposter - has subverted it, taking its place. The new tolerance is no tolerance at all, but a new form of totalitarianism. And we should not be tolerant of that.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Both Concise and Complete!, August 27, 2008

By 

Nyghtewynd (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Truth About Tolerance: Pluralism, Diversity and the Culture Wars (Paperback)

Stetson and Conti succeed in producing a text that both adequately describes and succinctly encapsulates most important aspects of the history and boundaries of true tolerance. What passes for tolerance today, they argue, is not really tolerance in the classical sense, but a specific sort of ideological viewpoint which actively works to suppress rather than encourage discussion and diversity. It's a well-argued case in a great book, and I recommend it highly.