Religious Subcultures and Political Tolerance: Do Denominations Still Matter?

This study examines the variation of religious groups in levels of political tolerance and addresses the extent to which these various groups exhibit particular subcultural traits based on data from the 1985, 1987, and 1988 General Social Surveys. The study considers current debates over the categorization of religious denominations and presents results using three popular classificatory strategies. Analyses of group differences and levels of homo/heterogeneity within denominations support the use of ''religious families'' as a classificatory strategy to examine attitudes toward civil liberties. Several promising directions for further research on contemporary denominational variations are discussed.