Deep conflicts about religion have haunted the West from the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in 1572 to the destruction of the World Trade Center. The need for toleration in these cases seems self-evident, but cultivating it is deceptively difficult. This book outlines the social, conceptual, and psychological preconditions for toleration. By looking closely at the religious wars of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in France and England and at contemporary controversies about the rights of homosexuals, Richard Dees demonstrates how trust between the opposing parties is needed first, but...

Toleration would seem to be the most rational response to deep conflicts. However, by examining the conditions under which trust can develop between warring parties, it becomes clear that a fundamental shift in values - a conversion - is required before toleration makes sense. This book argues that maintaining trust is the key to stable practices of toleration.