Religious Preference and Practice: Reevaluating Their Impact on Political Tolerance

This study assesses the impact of religious denominational affiliation and attendance on tolerance. In light of new findings about the group-relatedness of tolerance, we examine tolerance for least-liked groups by denomination to see whether denominational rankings on political tolerance change using that strategy. The findings demonstrate that denominational differences in political tolerance are substantial, and that frequent religious service attenders in each denomination are less tolerant than nonattenders, although the magnitude of the impact of attendance varies by denomination. These relationships remain strong even when we control for SES. Finally, we find that some religious denominations are less tolerant than others across the board—regardless of the object of intolerance. In conclusion, new questions are raised about the effects of religious preference and practice on political attributes.