The tensions between religions and political systems have been evident in intellectual and cultural contexts throughout human experience. In past ages, there has been a propensity for each culture or religion to assume that it embodied the best in every aspect of the human order. There is no longer any excuse for such narrowness spawned of ignorance to dominate the thinking of educated people. Yet mere tolerance of other approaches to the common challenges of humanity will not provide security for all, especially for minorities within a culture or for weaker societies in a given region striving to maintain their self-identity. An honest exchange of ideas, wherein each party is willing to listen, is the model which should replace the tendencies of the strong to impose their will on others.