ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on tolerance rather than just toleration, though of course the two are closely related. It looks at a series of issues around tolerance from early human societies on to formal civilizations and some initial alternatives to religious polytheism. The book examines the rise of the most vigorous missionary religions that introduce some additional issues into the balance between tolerance and intolerance, not only in outright beliefs but in other areas such as sexual behaviors. It also examines the rise of modern ideologies and political practices, and also diverse regional responses from the late eighteenth century to the mid-twentieth. The book also focuses on contemporary globalization and the new clouds on tolerance horizon in the past decade or so.
