Religious tolerance in the Edict of Milan and in the Constitution of Medina

pages: 277-292

Abstract

In this paper, we will try to offer a blueprint for a more general discussion of the relation of how the question of religious tolerance appears in two documents that the Christian and Islamic traditions recognize and celebrate: namely, the Edict of Milan and the Constitution of Medina. These documents were revolutionary for their time. However, these documents alone, as well as religious teachings, on which they are based, cannot be the measure of relations in our time. They are presented in the conceptual framework and value system that prevailed at the time when these teachings and documents were created. Many relations the documents refer to no longer exist. For example, while the Edict of Milan affirms the general right to religion, and the Constitution of Medina affirms the mutual tolerance for Abrahamic, monotheistic religions - people who now declare themselves as atheists or agnostics are not even mentioned. Keywords: Edict of Milan, the Constitution of Medina, religious tolerance, persecution, Christianity, Islam, Judaism