The Religious Right, Attitudes toward Women, and Tolerance for Sexual Abuse

College students completed the Attitudes Toward Women Scale and an adaptation of the Sexual Experiences Survey. Those who had experienced or perpetrated minimal levels of sexual abuse had significantly more positive attitudes toward women and their rights than did those who had experienced or perpetrated serious levels of sexual abuse. This relationship is discussed in terms of social and cultural conditions which lead to a greater tolerance for sexual abuse among both women und men. The role of the politically active religious right in perpetrating negative attitudes toward women, and thus, perhaps, sexual abuse, is discussed in detail.