America is full and rich with diverse people, religions, and values; they make America great. Just look at Riverside, California, there are more than fifty churches of different Christian denominations, three synagogues, two temples and a mosque; everything coincides peacefully in the city (Yellow Pages). Because Riverside is so diverse, religious pluralism and religious tolerance are two steps to making Riverside more connected. The first step is tolerance, a reflex that recognizes that a person will encounter people of a different faith. The second step is pluralism, which means a better understanding of a person's religion and the other religions around them. Many believe that pluralism is the better of the two, due to the interaction involved and the creation of harmony, but the flaws of pluralism are greater than the benefits. Currently religious pluralism is the quality America should strive for, but America is not yet ready for pluralism, so religious tolerance is best for today's diverse American population. Religious tolerance and religious pluralism have many different definitions, depending on a person's interpretation of the word. and where the person gets the definition. Every person of every faith and people without faith may have a different definition of tolerance and pluralism. Diana L. Eck, director of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University, provides a clear definition of pluralism. Pluralism is a two-way path of dialogue, knowledge, understanding and active participation (Eck 2 “From diversity”). Pluralism is not intended to mean an assimilation of religions or that a person of any faith must believe that all religious paths are true. Religious tolerance is the continuous congruent relationship between...... half of the document......and cooperation” ReligiousTolerance.org October 7, 2007: Onatrio Consultants on religious tolerance. Network. October 22, 2011.Eck, Diana L. “What is Pluralism?” The Harvard University Pluralism Project. Harvard University, 2011. Web. October 10, 2011. Eck, Diana L. “From Diversity to Pluralism” The Harvard University Pluralism Project. Harvard University, 2011. Web. October 10, 2011. Kilman, Carrie. “One nation, many gods.” Tolerance in Teaching Fall 2007: np Tolerance in Teaching. Network. October 10, 2011. Places of Worship in Riverside, California. Yellow Pages. AT&T Intellectual Property. 2011. Network. 20.Oct. 2011. .Prothero, Stephen. Introduction. Religious literacy: What every American needs to know and what they don't know. New York: HarperOne, 2007. Print.Shrader, Douglas W. “Beyond Tolerance: Globalization, Freedom, and Religious Pluralism.” 2006. PDF file.