"Each society must ask itself where it places the limits of tolerance". This is how Mª José Villaverde, professor at the School of Political Science and Sociology at the Complutense University of Madrid, expressed herself at the framework of an international congress organized by the project 'Religion and Civil Society' of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) of the University of Navarra.

For Professor Villaverde, although citizens generally recognize themselves as tolerant, "in no society is there absolute tolerance", since there are groups that are not accepted, such as Nazis, fundamentalists or pedophiles. The expert wondered whether, for example, it should be accepted that extremist ideas are spread in books or demonstrations "when no one is harmed" and pointed out that "the Degree of tolerance will vary according to the response that can be given".

The Complutense professor emphasized that there must be consensus among States on what is tolerable and what is not, with the aim of guaranteeing the rights of people regardless of the cultural tradition to which they belong, purpose .

According to him, reaching these agreements is essential to eradicate traditions such as clitoris ablation or arranged marriages of girls, which some societies claim as "cultural rights" but which "it is very debatable whether they should be accepted," he emphasized.

Regarding the religious persecutions that still occur in certain countries -such as Christians in Iraq, Egypt or Nigeria-, Mª José Villaverde insisted that "Western democratic societies cannot allow this. Not only can impositions be made through economic sanctions; other measures such as cultural diffusion must also be adopted". 

The Enlightenment: intolerance at the origins of tolerance

The professor, who gave a talk at congress lecture entitled 'The long road to tolerance: Emeric Crucé', referred to the lessons of history: "The levels of tolerance and the issues that are not tolerated have changed over the centuries. For example, in its origins - in the 17th century - it consisted of accepting in a somewhat condescending manner a series of beliefs that were considered erroneous".

"The very forgers of toleration in the Enlightenment presented intolerant aspects. Even most of those who wrote texts on toleration, such as John Locke, tolerated neither Catholics nor atheists."

And even "there was great intolerance" in the most tolerant country in Europe, the Netherlands, which possibly became so for a pragmatic reason: to unite the forces of the different religious groups into which the country was divided in the war against the Spanish Crown. He pointed out that this is demonstrated by the fact that thinkers such as Hugo Grotius or Baruch Spinoza had problems with the justice system because of their dissenting positions on religion.

Mª José Villaverde made these statements on the framework of the ICS international congress Religious Toleration in the Age of Enlightenment (1650-1800): Historical Perspectives on Current Debatesin which she intervened as speaker.

Experts from universities in Bulgaria, Chile, the USA, Spain, Hungary, the Netherlands and the UK presented topics related to religious peace, religious violence, the training of the tolerant mentality or Islam, among others.

The activity revolved around two main lines. The first is to trace the many Enlightenment legacies present in dominant discourses on religion and freedom. The second is to reconsider existing narratives about the place of the Enlightenment in the history of tolerance. This approach aims to goal examine more critically the assumptions underlying recent debates about religious freedom and to contribute to a more rigorous and honest dialogue about this topic.