SLU-Madrid Historian Discusses Tolerance and Convivencia on ABC Radio National
What can the history of religious coexistence in Spain teach us about tolerance today? Francisco (Paco) García-Serrano, Ph.D., vice rector, associate vice president and professor of history at Saint Louis University-Madrid, explored that question on ABC Radio National's God Forbid.
The discussion brought together Shaun Blanchard, senior lecturer in theology at the University of Notre Dame Australia; Jürgen Overhoff, professor of the history of education at the University of Münster, Germany; and García-Serrano, whose research focuses on medieval and early modern Spain. In the episode "Is tolerance really a virtue?", they examined the historical roots of tolerance and intolerance and their relevance today.
Drawing on his research into medieval Spain, García-Serrano discussed convivencia, the coexistence of Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities on the Iberian Peninsula. He cautioned against interpreting that history solely through a modern understanding of tolerance. Different communities lived alongside one another, but their relationships were shaped by changing political circumstances, practical needs and unequal rights.
"Religious diversity was part of the past of Spain and is an essential part of Spanish identity," García-Serrano said during the discussion.
The conversation also considered how accounts of Spain's past have been used for political purposes. García-Serrano emphasized the value of examining historical evidence critically, including when a familiar account presents the past as either uniformly tolerant or uniformly intolerant.
His contribution brought a perspective from SLU-Madrid to an international discussion about religious and cultural diversity and what history may teach societies facing questions of coexistence today.