Tolerantization of interfaith relations in Ukraine

• Main Author: Anatolii M. Kolodnyi
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Ukrainian Association of Researchers of Religion (UARR) 2008-09-01
• Series: Українське Pелігієзнавство
• Online Access: https://uars.info/index.php/uars/article/view/1978

Freedom of expression gives us the right to say what we think, but it does not oblige us to do so. This is evidenced by the so-called "cartoon conflict" associated with the name of Mohammed. He confirmed the differences of civilizations: we have a misunderstanding in the West of the psychology of the religiosity of the East. At the same time, if one did not have enough understanding of deep religious feelings, spurred by their inattention, the other showed a clear exaggeration of what was done and even perceived false information of what happened, for the truth. The East deepened the conflict of civilizations by giving it the right to use, as an argument against Western civilization, the belief that democracy, which it carries, and the freedom of speech it stands for, could open the way to ridicule and abuse of their faith.