From time to time, observers have called for going beyond religious tolerance in our effort to achieve real harmony in society.

A recent one was made by Dr William Wan when he urged all "to be less quick to take offence and be open to a genuinely respectful dialogue" - in the context of freedom of expression (Going beyond religious tolerance, May 4).

I applaud the spirit of such a call, but am pragmatic enough to recognise that there may be a need to move away from beating a dead horse.

Religious differences cannot be removed by good intentions alone. A different emphasis may be necessary to promote an attitudinal change.

Religion is by nature monolithic, exclusive and, in many situations, intrusive. It is prone to pitting not only believers against non-believers, but also believers against believers.

When opinions are expressed from a religious standpoint, even when couched in tactful and politically correct language, the likelihood of somebody being offended cannot be discounted.

People are hurt by perceived offensive remarks. And we can't help but second-guess others' intentions when we come across these remarks.

It is ironic but perhaps all too obvious that "nudging our society towards being a lot more gracious and truly understanding and accepting of each other's differences" probably requires focusing on our commonality as humans rather than our differences arising from religion.

The commonality is our inter-connectedness as members of the human species.

Recognising that we share the same DNA make-up and common ancestry, and constantly reminding ourselves of that fact, will go a long way in building mutual acceptance among different groups in society, even though we maintain our individual religious beliefs.

There should be a wider sharing of the scientific knowledge of human origins, and how human evolution and flourishing have brought us to our current state of development.

The important message ought to be how we have to look out for one another as members of the human species, and take care of the only planet that our species has populated and thrived on.

We can achieve greater harmony in society by acknowledging such a commonality than trying to tolerate or iron out our religious differences.

Yeoh Teng Kwong (Dr)