Yes, it's about respect. Respect for the person, not necessarily for their belief (many people I respect a lot as people believe some really odd things) and that they can believe something different without that making them 'stupid' or 'blind'
It seems to me that the higher up people get in an organisation the easier it is for them to become detached from the meaning of the organisation. Or perhaps the less they really believe in the aim the easier it is for them to get authority, I don't know which way round the causality might be but there seems to be a correlation.
I know some priests and other local leaders who really are not only tolerant but who really believe in diversity of thought and in respecting others with different beliefs. I read somewhere this morning about a Lutheran minister who has blessed a Koran and is presenting it to the head of the local Muslim congrehation, I hope the latter accepts it in the spirit it's given. But the higher up you go, the more it seems about the mundanities of power and control.
It's not unique to churches, of course, I've seen the same thing in management for the last 30+ years I've been working, and in trade unions, and in government. There's a lot of truth in "power corrupts" and its reverse "the corrupt seek power".
As to why people join churches (as organisations), I can understand that. The biggest reason is probably the need to 'belong' -- some of us find it in fandom, in clubs, in sports teams, etc. Another is a need felt by a lot of people to have someone tell them what's 'right'. There's a story about a person who visited the (then) recently ex Soviet Union and talked to the people about democracy, and got the answer "Yes, I'm sure it will be a wonderful thing when the government tell us make it work." But it's not just them, it's probably most people who want to be told what to do (most of the rest probably want to tell others what to do, which is why they get in control).
It seems to me that the higher up people get in an organisation the easier it is for them to become detached from the meaning of the organisation. Or perhaps the less they really believe in the aim the easier it is for them to get authority, I don't know which way round the causality might be but there seems to be a correlation.
I know some priests and other local leaders who really are not only tolerant but who really believe in diversity of thought and in respecting others with different beliefs. I read somewhere this morning about a Lutheran minister who has blessed a Koran and is presenting it to the head of the local Muslim congrehation, I hope the latter accepts it in the spirit it's given. But the higher up you go, the more it seems about the mundanities of power and control.
It's not unique to churches, of course, I've seen the same thing in management for the last 30+ years I've been working, and in trade unions, and in government. There's a lot of truth in "power corrupts" and its reverse "the corrupt seek power".
As to why people join churches (as organisations), I can understand that. The biggest reason is probably the need to 'belong' -- some of us find it in fandom, in clubs, in sports teams, etc. Another is a need felt by a lot of people to have someone tell them what's 'right'. There's a story about a person who visited the (then) recently ex Soviet Union and talked to the people about democracy, and got the answer "Yes, I'm sure it will be a wonderful thing when the government tell us make it work." But it's not just them, it's probably most people who want to be told what to do (most of the rest probably want to tell others what to do, which is why they get in control).
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