Abstract

If we look at the history of mankind, we will see that relations between nations and ethnic groups, religions and confessions, cultures and civilizations were often built on the principle of war, and not on the principle of mutual understanding. Interreligious and interethnic wars, short-term and century-long wars, crusades and St. Bartholomew’s Nights, the Reformation and the Inquisition in the West and East in the era of antiquity and the Middle Ages testify to the absence of a position of peace and tolerance.
Even in the 20th century, conflicts caused by political, ideological, national and religious differences occurred both at the global and local levels. Religious extremism and terrorism arose. Therefore, the modern era of globalization, characterized by the process of integration and the elimination of borders between states, promotes the concepts of peaceful coexistence, mutual understanding and consent, dialogue and tolerance.
This article examines the significance of religious tolerance, including Islamic tolerance. That is, it is established that the concepts of tolerance and patience underlie the ethical roots of world religions and the Islamic religion. Accordingly, although the term «tolerance» has become widespread in recent years, it is argued that its concept from the very beginning had a religious nature, both in contextual and historical terms. The main conceptual provisions in this article are presented using the example of the history and theory of religion and ethnoculture of Kazakhstan.