Degree Name
Master of Arts
Graduate Program
Sociology
Advisor
Whaley, Rachel B.
Abstract
With the recent upsurge in challenges to the public’s ability to speak in certain settings, the presence of various college curricula, and the inclusion of certain books in public libraries and schools, the contemporary political climate demonstrates a need to look at intolerance. Using the Stouffer (1955) battery of intolerance data in the General Social Survey (GSS), we examine the relationship of religious affiliation, religiosity, and political orientation with intolerance. The analyses shows that fundamentalist religious denominations exhibit intolerant attitudes more than other denominations. Likewise, the analyses indicate a positive relationship between higher religiosity and intolerance. Unexpectedly, political moderates showed a higher degree of intolerance than liberals or conservatives, indicating that scholars should continue to expand on the understanding of intolerance.