Objectives
The Institute for Religious Tolerance, Peace and Justice was founded to promote religious tolerance, coexistence, and interfaith dialogue. By promoting interfaith dialogue and universal respect for different faiths, we seek to minimize the conflicts that are shaped by religion and employ religion as their excuse. We seek to disarm the religious intolerance that is often the cause and underlying root of oppression and warfare.
We seek to educate the general public — through a variety of methods — about the diversity of religious beliefs around the world in an attempt to combat religious oppression, intolerance and violence. We highlight the commonalities shared by all peoples as a stepping stone to the peacemaking process. By tackling religious intolerance as the root problem of many of our modern difficulties, we will be better able to handle them.
We seek to have far reaching and long lasting effects in helping the world to mature to a more peaceable, tolerant and just place.
Rationale
While there are many other organizations currently in existence which promote interfaith dialogue and religious tolerance, it appears that most of these are linked to a particular faith or denomination. Also, most of these focus their efforts on dialogue between clergy and scholars of those particular religions.
While this is a noble and effective tack, we have found that what is missing today is a focused effort to reach the general public and create a grass-roots movement to further interfaith dialogue. It is the average citizen and adherent of the various world religions who most need to hear the message of religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue. It is this sector of the community that we most actively target.
Statement of Beliefs
We have no standard set of beliefs required of our supporters. However, all of us, by volitionally electing to participate in this initiative, tacitly subscribe to a common set of fundamental assumptions, such as the fact that all people have an equal right to liberty, justice and peace; and that religious tolerance is crucial to the establishment of peace and justice.
We uphold each person’s right to choose their religious beliefs, and affirm that no one has the right to force religious, spiritual or philosophical beliefs upon any other person, either by physical force, or by any other means, such as social, economic, psychological, or political coercion. The right to free expression of worship, or the lack thereof, is an individual right, so long as such free expression does not hinder the mutual freedom of others.
The Institute for Religious Tolerance, Peace and Justice was founded to promote religious tolerance, coexistence, and interfaith dialogue. By promoting interfaith dialogue and universal respect for different faiths, we seek to minimize the conflicts that are shaped by religion and that employ religion as their excuse. We seek to disarm the religious intolerance that is often the cause and underlying root of oppression and warfare.
Through a variety of innovative methods, we seek to educate and excite the general public about the diversity of religious beliefs found worldwide. The goal of our educational efforts is to combat religious oppression, intolerance and violence by highlighting the commonalities shared by all peoples as a stepping stone to the peacemaking process. By tackling religious intolerance as the root problem of many of our modern difficulties, we will be better able to handle them.
We seek to have far reaching and long lasting effects in helping the world to mature to a more peaceable, tolerant and just place.
Founded in 2011, the Institute is a non-profit organization, incorporated in California under state and federal non-profit laws. We are fully tax exempt, under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and under section 23701d of the California tax code.
