Quote 7
I was a good Christian; born and bred in the bosom of the infallible Presbyterian Church. How then could I unite with this wild idolator in worshipping his piece of wood? But what is worship? thought I. Do you suppose now, Ishmael, that the magnanimous God of heaven and earth – pagans and all included – can possibly be jealous of an insignificant bit of black wood? Impossible! But what is worship? – to do the will of God – that is worship. And what is the will of God? – to do to my fellow man what I would have my fellow man to do to me – that is the will of God. Now, Queequeg is my fellow man. And what do I wish that this Queequeg would do to me? Why, unite with me in my particular Presbyterian form of worship. Consequently, I must then unite with him in his; ergo, I must turn idolator. So I kindled the shavings; helped prop up the innocent little idol; offered him burnt biscuit with Queequeg; salamed before him twice or thrice; kissed his nose; and that done, we undressed and went to bed, at peace with our own consciences and all the world. (10.9)
It’s hard to say whether Ishmael’s reasoning here is laughable or laudable. His open-mindedness is great, but he reasons himself around to doing something that’s specifically prohibited in his religion. And he does it in just a paragraph or so. This may be taking religious tolerance to an absurd extreme— but it might also be an example of how every religion gets the job done in the end.
Quote 8
I cherish the greatest respect towards everybody’s religious obligations, never mind how comical, and could not find it in my heart to undervalue even a congregation of ants worshipping a toad-stool; or those other creatures in certain parts of our earth, who with a degree of footmanism quite unprecedented in other planets, bow down before the torso of a deceased landed proprietor merely on account of the inordinate possessions yet owned and rented in his name.
I say, we good Presbyterian Christians should be charitable in these things, and not fancy ourselves so vastly superior to other mortals, pagans and what not, because of their half-crazy conceits on these subjects. There was Queequeg, now, certainly entertaining the most absurd notions about Yojo and his Ramadan; – but what of that? Queequeg thought he knew what he was about, I suppose; he seemed to be content; and there let him rest. All our arguing with him would not avail; let him be, I say: and Heaven have mercy on us all – Presbyterians and Pagans alike – for we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending. (17.1-2)
Here, Ishmael’s attitude toward religious observances once again presents a problem. On the one hand, Ishmael seems aware of the limitations of all types of fanaticism when he says "we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head."
He’s also strikingly modern when he suggests that all religions should be respected. And yet, the fact that he still refers to "pagans and what not" as "half-crazy" shows that he can’t quite kick his prejudices. The fact that he’s as willing to respect the beliefs of ants as he is of other people is a little bit insulting to other people.
Quote 9
Now, as I before hinted, I have no objection to any person’s religion, be it what it may, so long as that person does not kill or insult any other person, because that other person don’t believe it also. But when a man’s religion becomes really frantic; when it is a positive torment to him; and, in fine, makes this earth of ours an uncomfortable inn to lodge in; then I think it high time to take that individual aside and argue the point with him. (17.25)
Ishmael’s willing to go along with any reasonable behavior based on a faith—as long as it doesn’t become inconvenient or uncomfortable. Faithful people probably think he’s missing the point.