The Lie of Religious Intolerance

by Rory Bowman

Among many people who feel rejected by the church is a strong belief that organized religion is inherently intolerant, which I believe to be false. It was the Roman Catholic doctrine around corporal acts of mercy which led directly to the modern concept of public hospitals, draws from this tradition, as expressed in Matthew 25:31-40

³¹"But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. ³²Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴Then the King will tell those on his right hand, 'Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; ³⁵for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. ³⁶I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.'

³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink? ³⁸When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?'

⁴⁰"The King will answer them, 'Most certainly I tell you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'

Jessica Gavre is one among hundreds of religious leaders and organizations working for the approval of Referendum 71. Like the Washington Association of Churches, the Church Council of Greater Seattle and many within the Community of Welcoming Congregations, she sees this as a natural extension of a social-justice ministry.

The Christian New Testament tells us that Jesus did not spend much of his time among kings or arguing each jot and tittle of the law, but rather in the world preaching and performing acts of love and kindness. It is no accident that the early abolitionists were almost entirely motivated for the elimination of slavery by religious belief, or that their successors such as Dr. Martin Luther King and Archbishop Desmond Tutu were also religious men. From non-Christians such as Socrates to Mohandis Ghandi, many of the greatest and most inspirational leaders for civil rights have been religious people, and that tradition did not end with the introduction of Referendum 71.


Modern observers of religion (and especially conservative televangelists) may be surprised to know how many modern "conservative" churches had their origins in egalitarian ideals such as the Baptist concepts of church autonomy, racial integration, separation of church and state or the "priesthood of all believers." Although radical for their time and forgotten by many outsiders, these ideals are very much alive in the hearts and pews of southwest Washington's believers.

Here in Clark County, some of the earliest proponents and allies for referendum 71 came from religious organizations: the Young Women's Christian Association of Clark County, congregation Kol Ami, Vancouver Heights United Methodist, Hazel Dell's First Congregational Church, Vancouver Unitarian Universalists, the Community of Welcoming Congregations and other parishioners at long-established churches such as First United Methodist and St Luke's Episcopal. These congregations and others are actively working for social justice in the grand tradition of the prophets, demonstrating clearly how traditions of divine love are made concrete.

Many years ago, in high school, I was sweet on a minister's daughter and the minister was very kind to me. Given that I was not of their denomination (and that my interest was not entirely pure) I marveled that her family accepted me. "There is only one body of Christ," she explained, "as crippled and broken and bruised at it is." Tolerance for other denominations and lifestyles was an essential part of their faith, as it has been for the many other friends and colleagues over the year. From atheists to secular humanists, to Sikhs, Hindus, Pagans, Muslims and Jews, all people of goodwill are in some sense one body. "God doesn't need the church," as another friend recently put it: "It is mankind that needs the church, and the love of God."

As Kennewick pastor Bob Jackson sees it, a vote for approval of Referendum 71 is in the same vein as past struggles against slavery, for women's suffrage and against racial discrimination.

I vote to approve Referendum 71 because I believe, in the words of the Pledge of Allegiance, that we are a people of “liberty and justice for all.” That patriotic stance is based upon my religious convictions as a follower of Jesus, who said that “all the law and the prophets” can be summarized by “loving God with your whole being” and “loving your neighbor as you love yourself.”

After forty years in the pulpit he loudly says "we must not take away from others those rights that we cherish for ourselves."

Working for the approval of Referendum 71, in support of seniors and same-sex domestic partnership, I have had the pleasure to meet many people that I might not have otherwise met, and been impressed by the love and goodwill so many people of faith have for others. Be they young or old, Mormon or Catholic, lesbian, gay or heterosexual, they all support civil rights for their neighbors: black or white, gay or straight, old or young, saved or infidel.

"Given the diversity of creation," one said, "who am I to judge?"

Not all people of faith are intolerant and hypocritical bigots, as many are proving with their time and votes to approve Referendum 71.

In the immortal words of Tiny Tim, "God bless us, every one."