tolerant essay in english

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Essay on “Tolerance” Complete Essay for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

The world needs more Tolerance

“Tolerance is the only real test of civilization”. It was Arthur Kelps who thus extolled the virtue of tolerance. Man in the 21 st century believes he is more civilized than his ancestors. But is he also more tolerant than them? Unfortunately, the virtue of tolerance is not abundant in the world of today and the world is in dire need of it.

          Tolerance can be defined as the possession of  a fair and objective perspective and attitude towards those people who are of different races, religions, nations or have a set of opinions, beliefs and ideas the differ from our own.

          The importance of tolerance lies in its ability to make a human being broad enough in mind to be receptive to all  kinds of ideas. This, in turn , enables on e to widen one’s knowledge and exercise more freedom of choice and jugement for oneself. At the same time it creates a deeper understanding of other’s views and beliefs.

          Today, tolerance seems to be at a discount at all levels. At the most trivial sign of disagreement hot words are exchanged, almost immediately escalating into a fight and sometimes even murder. Family members find it difficult to put up with one another’s shortcomings – after all which human being is perfect? Communities, social groups, facial groups and nations- at all levels, there appears to be an acute lack of tolerance. Trivial misunderstandings, even rumors, give rise to riots with the accompanying bloodshed and permanent acres on relationship ; at the national level, there is civil war and border wars. So often a personal matter such as religion has been distorted to create hatred amongst peoples. If people learnt to tolerate one another’s views , perhaps such sad occurrences could be reduced if not totally removed from this world!  

          Why has tolerance level come down? Or, indeed, has it come down at all? Human beings all through the ages have shown intolerance of views and beliefs and customs alien to their own. Wars such as the Crusades have been fought because of religious intolerance. Racial tension has grown due to intolerance. So long as human beings give in to envy, malice, jealousy and greed, tolerance will suffer. In rent times several longstanding and accepted social institution have shown signs of crumbling. Family values, social values are all being eroded. An increasing materialistic and consumer culture has not helped to nurture essential values. The individual has assumed such importance that anything that militates against that individual’s own ideas is not collated.

          Enlightenment of individual is necessary. Universal values of liberalism, the willingness to listen to others, at most agree to disagree and not enter into fights of domination – these qualities have to be bred at every level of society. Democracy, after all, means tolerance of dissent; if this tolerance is not imbibed and nurtured, it will only give rise to another Bosnia, Chechnya or Kashmir.

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Tolerance is more than putting up with things – it’s a moral virtue

Honarary Research Fellow in Psychology , Australian Catholic University

Disclosure statement

Rivka T. Witenberg received funding from Large ARC SPIRT Grant; Department of Psychology Research Support Scheme, University of Melbourne and Australian Catholic University; Centre for Education for Human Values and Tolerance, Bar Ilan University, Tel Aviv, Israel; The University of Melbourne Collaborative research Grant.

Australian Catholic University provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.

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We hear a lot about tolerance these days.

Tolerance is a moral virtue best placed within the moral domain – but unfortunately it is often confounded with prejudice. Much of the psychological research about tolerance generally and about the development of children’s understanding of tolerance of others who are different from them has been examined through research about prejudice – and not through the moral domain. The assumption made is that absence of prejudice by default means a person is tolerant.

Prejudice and tolerance are actually theoretically different concepts – and not the opposite of each other. In fact, they coexist in most of us.

Tolerance is difficult to define, which may have led to limiting the study of tolerance in psychology in favour of studying prejudice. But, unlike prejudice, tolerance can be grounded in the moral domain which offers a positive approach to examining relationships between groups of people who are different from each other.

Based on its Latin origin, tolerance, or toleration as philosophers often refer to it, is most commonly viewed negatively as “putting up with” something we dislike or even hate. If a person is prepared to “put up with” something – along the lines of, I do not like the colour of your skin but I will still serve you not to lose your custom – that person is someone who does not discriminate but remains intolerant in thoughts and beliefs.

Besides, who wants to be tolerated or be “put up with”?

At the same time tolerance cannot be indiscriminate. Indiscriminate acceptance in its most extreme form could lead to recognition of questionable practice and human rights violations – for instance, child marriages and neo-Nazi propaganda.

Tolerance as a moral virtue

An alternative way for us to think of tolerance is to place it within the moral domain and recognise that it is what it is, a moral virtue.

Many recent philosophers have linked tolerance with respect, equality and liberty. Those such as Michael Dusche , John Rawls and Michael Walzer among others, argue that we should regard tolerance as a positive civic and moral duty between individuals, irrespective of colour, creed or culture.

In other words, it is a moral obligation or duty which involves respect for the individual as well as mutual respect and consideration between people. Tolerance between people makes it possible for conflicting claims of beliefs, values and ideas to coexistence as long as they fit within acceptable moral values.

So while different marriage practices fit in within acceptable moral values, sexual abuse of children is immoral and cannot be tolerated. I believe tolerance is an essential component in social unity and a remedy to intolerance and prejudice.

The idea that tolerance is a moral duty had been acknowledged by earlier civil libertarians, such as John Locke, Baruch Spinoza, John Stuart Mill and others. They argue that tolerant people value the individual, his or her independence and freedom of choice.

When tolerance is placed within the moral domain relating to fairness, justice and respect and avoiding causing harm to others, it can only be viewed as a positive moral virtue.

Psychological research supports the idea that tolerance is better placed within the moral domain. My own research with my students shows the best indicators and predictors of tolerance to human diversity are fairness and empathy.

Fairness and empathy are also very closely connected to moral development and reasoning. They are fundamental to any coherent moral philosophy.

Empathy and morality

Psychologists such as Johnathan Haidt believe empathy is the most important motivator for moral behaviour. Others such as Martin Hoffman argue empathy is a motivator of prosocial and altruistic or unselfish behaviour.

Empathic people are sensitive to the thoughts, feelings and experiences of others. They are able to place themselves in someone else’s shoes or understand how it would feel to be treated badly. Placing oneself in someone else’s shoes is the essence of tolerance.

My research shows that people of all ages including children have a strong sense of fairness and empathy towards others different from them in colour, creed or culture. They reject prejudice and intolerance between 70% and 80% of the time affirming tolerance based on fairness and empathy.

Moral values such as fairness, justice, empathy, tolerance and respect are shared, if not universal, values relevant to dealing with human diversity

Tolerance examined as separate concept could have unique implications for education and social policy. Education aimed at promoting a harmonious society could do well to focus more on the relationship between morality and tolerance. Grounding tolerance in theories of morality allows for an alternative educational approach to promote harmonious intergroup relationships.

Part of this education would involve developing a strong sense of fairness and justice and the ability to empathise with the plight of others who are different in racial characteristics, ethnicity or nationality.

This article is part of a series on public morality in 21st-century Australia.

• Morality series

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By Sarah Peterson

Originally published in July 2003, Current Implications added by Heidi Burgess in December, 2019

Current Implications

When Sarah wrote this essay in 2003, social media existed, but it hadn't yet become popular or widespread.  Facebook and Twitter hadn't started yet (Facebook started in 2004, Twitter in 2006.)  More .... 

What is Tolerance?

Tolerance is the appreciation of diversity and the ability to live and let others live. It is the ability to exercise a fair and objective attitude towards those whose opinions, practices, religion, nationality, and so on differ from one's own.[1] As William Ury notes, "tolerance is not just agreeing with one another or remaining indifferent in the face of injustice, but rather showing respect for the essential humanity in every person."[2]

Intolerance is the failure to appreciate and respect the practices, opinions and beliefs of another group. For instance, there is a high degree of intolerance between Israeli Jews and Palestinians who are at odds over issues of identity , security , self-determination , statehood, the right of return for refugees, the status of Jerusalem and many other issues. The result is continuing intergroup conflict and violence .

Why Does Tolerance Matter?

At a post-9/11 conference on multiculturalism in the United States, participants asked, "How can we be tolerant of those who are intolerant of us?"[3] For many, tolerating intolerance is neither acceptable nor possible.

Though tolerance may seem an impossible exercise in certain situations -- as illustrated by Hobbes in the inset box on the right -- being tolerant, nonetheless, remains key to easing hostile tensions between groups and to helping communities move past intractable conflict. That is because tolerance is integral to different groups relating to one another in a respectful and understanding way. In cases where communities have been deeply entrenched in violent conflict, being tolerant helps the affected groups endure the pain of the past and resolve their differences. In Rwanda, the Hutus and the Tutsis have tolerated a reconciliation process , which has helped them to work through their anger and resentment towards one another.

The Origins of Intolerance

In situations where conditions are economically depressed and politically charged, groups and individuals may find it hard to tolerate those that are different from them or have caused them harm. In such cases, discrimination, dehumanization, repression, and violence may occur. This can be seen in the context of Kosovo, where Kosovar Alabanians, grappling with poverty and unemployment, needed a scapegoat, and supported an aggressive Serbian attack against neighboring Bosnian Muslim and Croatian neighbors.

The Consequences of Intolerance

Intolerance will drive groups apart, creating a sense of permanent separation between them. For example, though the laws of apartheid in South Africa were abolished nine years ago, there still exists a noticeable level of personal separation between black and white South Africans, as evidenced in studies on the levels of perceived social distance between the two groups.[4] This continued racial division perpetuates the problems of intergroup resentment and hostility.

How is Intolerance Perpetuated?

Between Individuals: In the absence of their own experiences, individuals base their impressions and opinions of one another on assumptions. These assumptions can be influenced by the positive or negative beliefs of those who are either closest or most influential in their lives, including parents or other family members, colleagues, educators, and/or role models. 

In the Media: Individual attitudes are influenced by the images of other groups in the media, and the press. For instance, many Serbian communities believed that the western media portrayed a negative image of the Serbian people during the NATO bombing in Kosovo and Serbia.[5] This de-humanization may have contributed to the West's willingness to bomb Serbia. However, there are studies that suggest media images may not influence individuals in all cases. For example, a study conducted on stereotypes discovered people of specific towns in southeastern Australia did not agree with the negative stereotypes of Muslims presented in the media.[6]

In Education: There exists school curriculum and educational literature that provide biased and/or negative historical accounts of world cultures. Education or schooling based on myths can demonize and dehumanize other cultures rather than promote cultural understanding and a tolerance for diversity and differences.

What Can Be Done to Deal with Intolerance?

To encourage tolerance, parties to a conflict and third parties must remind themselves and others that tolerating tolerance is preferable to tolerating intolerance. Following are some useful strategies that may be used as tools to promote tolerance.

Intergroup Contact: There is evidence that casual intergroup contact does not necessarily reduce intergroup tensions, and may in fact exacerbate existing animosities. However, through intimate intergroup contact, groups will base their opinions of one another on personal experiences, which can reduce prejudices . Intimate intergroup contact should be sustained over a week or longer in order for it to be effective.[7]

In Dialogue: To enhance communication between both sides, dialogue mechanisms such as dialogue groups or problem solving workshops  provide opportunities for both sides to express their needs and interests. In such cases, actors engaged in the workshops or similar forums feel their concerns have been heard and recognized. Restorative justice programs such as victim-offender mediation provide this kind of opportunity as well. For instance, through victim-offender mediation, victims can ask for an apology from the offender and the offender can make restitution and ask for forgiveness.[8]

What Individuals Can Do

Individuals should continually focus on being tolerant of others in their daily lives. This involves consciously challenging the stereotypes and assumptions that they typically encounter in making decisions about others and/or working with others either in a social or a professional environment.

What the Media Can Do

The media should use positive images to promote understanding and cultural sensitivity. The more groups and individuals are exposed to positive media messages about other cultures, the less they are likely to find faults with one another -- particularly those communities who have little access to the outside world and are susceptible to what the media tells them. See the section on stereotypes  to learn more about how the media perpetuate negative images of different groups.

What the Educational System Can Do

Educators are instrumental in promoting tolerance and peaceful coexistence . For instance, schools that create a tolerant environment help young people respect and understand different cultures. In Israel, an Arab and Israeli community called Neve Shalom or Wahat Al-Salam ("Oasis of Peace") created a school designed to support inter-cultural understanding by providing children between the first and sixth grades the opportunity to learn and grow together in a tolerant environment.[9]

What Other Third Parties Can Do

Conflict transformation NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and other actors in the field of peacebuilding can offer mechanisms such as trainings to help parties to a conflict communicate better with one another. For instance, several organizations have launched a series of projects in Macedonia that aim to reduce tensions between the country's Albanian, Romani and Macedonian populations, including activities that promote democracy, ethnic tolerance, and respect for human rights.[10]

International organizations need to find ways to enshrine the principles of tolerance in policy. For instance, the United Nations has already created The Declaration of Moral Principles on Tolerance, adopted and signed in Paris by UNESCO's 185 member states on Nov. 16, 1995, which qualifies tolerance as a moral, political, and legal requirement for individuals, groups, and states.[11]

Governments also should aim to institutionalize policies of tolerance. For example, in South Africa, the Education Ministry has advocated the integration of a public school tolerance curriculum into the classroom; the curriculum promotes a holistic approach to learning . The United States government has recognized one week a year as international education week, encouraging schools, organizations, institutions, and individuals to engage in projects and exchanges to heighten global awareness of cultural differences.

The Diaspora community can also play an important role in promoting and sustaining tolerance. They can provide resources to ease tensions and affect institutional policies in a positive way. For example, Jewish, Irish, and Islamic communities have contributed to the peacebuilding effort within their places of origin from their places of residence in the United States. [12]

When Sarah wrote this essay in 2003, social media existed, but it hadn't yet become popular or widespread.  Facebook and Twitter hadn't started yet (Facebook started in 2004, Twitter in 2006.) 

In addition, while the conflict between the right and the left and the different races certainly existed in the United States, it was not nearly as escalated or polarized as it is now in 2019.  For those reasons (and others), the original version of this essay didn't discuss political or racial tolerance or intolerance in the United States.  Rather than re-writing the original essay, all of which is still valid, I have chosen to update it with these "Current Implications." 

In 2019, the intolerance between the Left and the Right in the United States has gotten extreme. Neither side is willing to accept the legitimacy of the values, beliefs, or actions of the other side, and they are not willing to tolerate those values, beliefs or actions whatsoever. That means, in essence, that they will not tolerate the people who hold those views, and are doing everything they can to disempower, delegitimize, and in some cases, dehumanize the other side.

Further, while intolerance is not new, efforts to spread and strengthen it have been greatly enhanced with the current day traditional media and social media environments: the proliferation of cable channels that allow narrowcasting to particular audiences, and Facebook and Twitter (among many others) that serve people only information that corresponds to (or even strengthens) their already biased views. The availability of such information channels both helps spread intolerance; it also makes the effects of that intolerance more harmful.

Intolerance and its correlaries (disempowerment, delegitimization, and dehumanization) are perhaps clearest on the right, as the right currently holds the U.S. presidency and controls the statehouses in many states.  This gives them more power to assert their views and disempower, delegitimize and dehumanize the other.  (Consider the growing restrictions on minority voting rights, the delegitimization of transgendered people and supporters, and the dehumanizing treatment of would-be immigrants at the southern border.) 

But the left is doing the same thing when it can.  By accusing the right of being "haters," the left delegitimizes the right's values and beliefs, many of which are not borne of animus, but rather a combination of bad information being spewed by fake news in social and regular media, and natural neurobiological tendencies which cause half of the population to be biologically more fearful, more reluctant to change, and more accepting of (and needing) a strong leader. 

Put together, such attitudes feed upon one another, causing an apparently never-ending escalation and polarization spiral of intolerance.  Efforts to build understanding and tolerance, just as described in the original article, are still much needed today both in the United States and across the world. 

The good news is that many such efforts exist.  The Bridge Alliance , for instance, is an organization of almost 100 member organizations which are working to bridge the right-left divide in the U.S.  While the Bridge Alliance doesn't use the term "tolerance" or "coexistence" in its framing " Four Principles ," they do call for U.S. leaders and the population to "work together" to meet our challenges.  "Working together" requires not only "tolerance for " and "coexistence with" the other side; it also requires respect for other people's views. That is something that many of the member organizations are trying to establish with red-blue dialogues, public fora, and other bridge-building activities.  We need much, much more of that now in 2019 if we are to be able to strengthen tolerance against the current intolerance onslaught.

One other thing we'd like to mention that was touched upon in the original article, but not explored much, is what can and should be done when the views or actions taken by the other side are so abhorent that they cannot and should not be tolerated? A subset of that question is one Sarah did pose above '"How can we be tolerant of those who are intolerant of us?"[3] For many, tolerating intolerance is neither acceptable nor possible." Sarah answers that by arguing that tolerance is beneficial--by implication, even in those situations. 

What she doesn't explicitly consider, however, is the context of the intolerance.  If one is considering the beliefs or behavior of another that doesn't affect anyone else--a personal decision to live in a particular way (such as following a particular religion for example), we would agree that tolerance is almost always beneficial, as it is more likely to lead to interpersonal trust and further understanding. 

However, if one is considering beliefs or actions of another that does affect other people--particularly actions that affect large numbers of people, then that is a different situation.  We do not tolerate policies that allow the widespread dissemination of fake news and allow foreign governments to manipulate our minds such that they can manipulate our elections.  That, in our minds is intolerable.  So too are actions that destroy the rule of law in this country; actions that threaten our democratic system.

But that doesn't mean that we should respond to intolerance in kind.  Rather, we would argue, one should respond to intolerance with respectful dissent--explaining why the intolerance is unfairly stereotyping an entire group of people; explaining why such stereotyping is both untrue and harmful; why a particular action is unacceptable because it threatens the integrity of our democratic system, explaining alternative ways of getting one's needs met. 

This can be done without attacking the people who are guilty of intolerance with direct personal attacks--calling them "haters," or shaming them for having voted a particular way.  That just hardens the other sides' intolerance. 

Still, reason-based arguments probably won't be accepted right away.  Much neuroscience research explains that emotions trump facts and that people won't change their minds when presented with alternative facts--they will just reject those facts.  But if people are presented with facts in the form of respectful discussion instead of personal attacks, that is both a factual and an emotional approach that can help de-escalate tensions and eventually allow for the development of tolerance.  Personal attacks on the intolerant will not do that.  So when Sarah asked whether one should tolerate intolerance, I would say "no, one should not." But that doesn't mean that you have to treat the intolerant person disrespectfully or "intolerantly."  Rather, model good, respectful behavior.  Model the behavior you would like them to adopt.  And use that to try to fight the intolerance, rather than simply "tolerating it." 

-- Heidi and Guy Burgess. December, 2019.

Back to Essay Top

---------------------------------------------------------

[1] The American Heritage Dictionary (New York: Dell Publishing, 1994).

[2] William Ury, Getting To Peace (New York: The Penguin Group, 1999), 127.

[3] As identified by Serge Schmemann, a New York Times columnist noted in his piece of Dec. 29, 2002, in The New York Times entitled "The Burden of Tolerance in a World of Division" that tolerance is a burden rather than a blessing in today's society.

[4] Jannie Malan, "From Exclusive Aversion to Inclusive Coexistence," Short Paper, African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), Conference on Coexistence Community Consultations, Durban, South Africa, January 2003, 6.

[5] As noted by Susan Sachs, a New York Times columnist in her piece of Dec. 16, 2001, in The New York Times entitled "In One Muslim Land, an Effort to Enforce Lessons of Tolerance."

[6] Amber Hague, "Attitudes of high school students and teachers towards Muslims and Islam in a southeaster Australian community," Intercultural Education 2 (2001): 185-196.

[7] Yehuda Amir, "Contact Hypothesis in Ethnic Relations," in Weiner, Eugene, eds. The Handbook of Interethnic Coexistence (New York: The Continuing Publishing Company, 2000), 162-181.

[8] The Ukrainian Centre for Common Ground has launched a successful restorative justice project. Information available on-line at www.sfcg.org .

[9] Neve Shalom homepage [on-line]; available at www.nswas.com ; Internet.

[10] Lessons in Tolerance after Conflict.  http://www.beyondintractability.org/library/external-resource?biblio=9997

[11] "A Global Quest for Tolerance" [article on-line] (UNESCO, 1995, accessed 11 February 2003); available at http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/fight-against-discrimination/promoting-tolerance/ ; Internet.

[12] Louis Kriesberg, "Coexistence and the Reconciliation of Communal Conflicts." In Weiner, Eugene, eds. The Handbook of Interethnic Coexistence (New York: The Continuing Publishing Company, 2000), 182-198.

Use the following to cite this article: Peterson, Sarah. "Tolerance." Beyond Intractability . Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Information Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: July 2003 < http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/tolerance >.

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Tolerance - Essay Samples And Topic Ideas For Free

Tolerance refers to the acceptance and understanding of the differences that exist among people, regardless of their race, religion, or opinions. An essay on tolerance might explore its importance in a modern multicultural society, the need for tolerance in fostering peace and harmony, or the effects of intolerance on conflict and discord. You might also delve into the psychological or societal factors that contribute to tolerance or intolerance and discuss ways to foster a more tolerant society. A substantial compilation of free essay instances related to Tolerance you can find at Papersowl. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Tolerance in to Kill a Mockingbird

Do you think that tolerance is an important part of life? In To Kill a Mockingbird, By Harper Lee, many characters show tolerance towards others, and others show a lack of tolerance. I will be discussing why I think Atticus and Scout both show tolerance, and why Lula shows intolerance. Atticus showed tolerance towards Mrs. Dubose even when she insults him and negatively comments on him. But He [Atticus] treats her politely and helps her throughout the novel. ""Good evening, […]

Pain Tolerance between Genders

Pain tolerance between genders is a topic that researchers have been looking more into in the past recent years as well as the publications that regard sex, gender, and pain have increased at a greater rate over the past 25 to 30 years, so it was about time to revisit this literature. The abundance of evidence from recent epidemiologic studies demonstrates that women may have a higher risk for clinical pain conditions, though there is the suggestion that postoperative and […]

Importance of Kindness

Tolerance is not possible without kindness. It is through kindness that we are able to put ourselves in the other person’s shoes and feel what they feel. Kindness and tolerance are key factors in our growth into outstanding adults, so starting at a young age is crucial. We can reason right from wrong, and we can especially learn and grow. When we neglect to teach children the basics - people are all different and we should all love each other […]

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Cultural Diversity Intolerance

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Tolerance and Respect for Cultural Differences Essay

Introduction, organization of the essay, tolerance and respect in relation to cultural diversities, reasons why tolerance and respect solve societal challenges, recommendations and conclusion, works cited, background information.

Conflict is the most common form of challenge facing the human population today. An in-depth analysis of interactions between people from different backgrounds reveals that the said conflict is as a result of societal diversities. The diversities include differences in, among others, social status, race, affiliations to ethnic groups, and political beliefs. According to Agius and Ambrosewicz (1), the diversities in any given society are brought about by cultural variations.

In this essay, the author seeks to provide a solution for these conflicts in a bid to promote peaceful coexistence among people from different cultural and social backgrounds.

Thesis Statement

Tolerance and respect help to reduce conflicts in multicultural societies .

Most contemporary societies are characterized by cultural diversities. The differences are increased by globalization, where physical and geographical borders have reduced and movement of people increased. Tolerance and respect for these diversities is the only way through which people from different backgrounds can live peacefully. The author of this paper bases their arguments on the sentiments held by Basso (7). Basso provides solutions on how to deal with diversity in a society. The author relies on Basso to support the thesis statement in light of the readings specified for this course. A number of factors that support tolerance and respect for diversity are clearly outlined in this essay. In addition, the author of this essay illustrates how the said respect and tolerance can be realized.

The essay is divided into three major sections. The first section constitutes the introduction where an overview of the essay is outlined. The second section is made up of the body of the essay. The definition of terms, position of the author on the subject matter, and justifications for the arguments made is contained in this section. The author concludes the essay in the third section by revisiting the thesis statement and highlighting the various approaches used to develop attitudes that promote respect and tolerance. The conclusion borrows heavily from the course readings as outlined by Basso (4).

Definition of Terms

Tolerance draws its philosophical meanings from the accommodation of divergent behaviors in a given society. Agius and Ambrosewicz (11) argue that this concept can be regarded as the formula required for the peaceful coexistence of a socially and culturally divergent people. The two scholars point out that diversity in a society can be brought about by many factors. For instance, the society today is characterized by individuals from various ethnic backgrounds. Such individuals come together to form groups that exhibit diversities with regards to race and ethnicity. Religion is also another reason that brings about divergence in a society.

For example, the American society is made up of people from Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and other religious groups. Tolerance can be viewed as the adhesive that holds people together and helps them to live harmoniously despite their cultural differences. It averts conflicts, which may lead to societal disintegration. Conflicts consume a lot of resources that could have been used to promote the society economically and socially. For example, money, time, and human resources are used to resolve disagreements that arise among people in the society.

Tolerance is closely related to the concept of universal equality. Agius and Ambrosewicz (11) argue that a single group in a society can claim superiority over others. For example, the whites can hold the opinion that they are superior to blacks, Hispanics, and other minority groups. Tolerance comes in to address these issues. It promotes the acceptance of other people’s rights to exist regardless of the cultural differences. Basso uses the narrative Number Our Days to illustrate this notion.

Respect and cultural diversity

Respect refers to the way an individual regards other people in the society. In the opinions of Agius and Ambrosewicz (17), this concept is considered as the conduct of an individual with regards to the ethical traits of another person or group. In the matrix of a multicultural society, there are bound to be differences in behavior owing to varying cultural backgrounds. Under such circumstances, respect is seen as the manner in which one party in the society treats their counterparts. It overlooks the biases that would result from the diversity in the community.

Respect and Tolerance

From the definitions provided above, it is evident that the two terms are closely related, especially with regards to cultural diversity. Agius and Ambrosewicz (19) argue that tolerance results from the respect that an individual has towards the diversities evident in the society. Similarly, respect relies on the understanding that people are entitled to their behaviors. The author of this essay relies on this relationship to make arguments in support of development of attitudes that enhance respect and tolerance for diversity.

Solving Societal Challenges in Light of Cultural Diversities

In the previous sections of this essay, the author suggested that attitudes that promote respect and tolerance can solve many of the challenges threatening cohesion and coexistence in the society. As envisaged by Agius and Ambrosewicz (12), conflict is the most common challenge facing a multicultural civilization. The central argument in this essay agrees with the notion that the attitudes supporting respect and tolerance go a long way in solving societal problems, including conflicts. In this regard, several cases of intolerance and disrespect are examined to outline their negative impacts on the society.

A multicultural civilization can be regarded as one that is defined by the existence of people from different racial and cultural backgrounds. By virtue of their ethnic diversity, the individuals are likely to hold clashing schools of thought. For example, the natives may hold religious and political views that are different from those promoted by the whites. The variations are likely to create frictions between these two groups. The demographics of the various racial and ethnic groups vary. In light of these demographics, the dominant group tends to feel superior to the minority class. Agius and Ambrosewicz (13) give an example of racial profiling in Europe and America, some of the most advanced nations in the civilized world. Caucasians are the dominant race in these two societies. As a result, people from other races have received prejudicial treatment in these communities.

Racism is one of the major effects of ethnic diversities in a society. The phenomenon is brought about by the perception that Caucasians are superior to other races, such as the blacks and Hispanics. The act is a classic example of disrespect and intolerance with regards to diversity (Basso 29). Based on the definition of tolerance, it is evident that intolerance is the direct opposite of this concept. A group of people may consider others as unworthy of certain privileges. An example of such kind of intolerance exhibited itself in America where African Americans were denied several rights owing to the color of their skin. The result was a bloody struggle for freedom.

History is replete with several accounts and cases where tolerance and respect for diversity provided solutions to many conflicts. Agius and Ambrosewicz (21) make reference to the gradual decline of sexism. For a long time, most societies believed that men were superior to women. Religions like Christianity and Islam had doctrines that suggested women were inferior to men. Consequently, women were denied certain rights. For instance, in Europe, women were not allowed to vote. However, through dialogue and respect for equality, the group was eventually allowed to exercise this right.

Discrimination is often a manifestation of intolerance and disrespect. Societies that do not embrace tolerance are torn apart by conflicts (Basso 43). Racism and sexism are some of the attitudes that have changed significantly over the years. The shifts in attitudes have led to various changes in the society. For instance, it is now common for an African American to take a Caucasian woman for a wife without societal uproar. Such are the ‘attitudinal’ changes that made it possible for the United States of America to elect a black president for two terms.

The peaceful coexistence between people from different backgrounds is better than conflict. In their analysis of tolerance, Agius and Ambrosewicz (11) argue that conflict is resolved by changes in attitude. The two argue that human existence can be traced back to more than 3000 years ago. However, societies have spent more time in conflicts than in actual peaceful coexistence. That notwithstanding, many of the conflicts were resolved with the help of dialogues. In The Spirit Catches You , Basso (45) suggests that dialogue is an attribute of respect towards others.

As a societal challenge, conflict is not attractive. The many wars experienced in the past support this assertion by Agius and Ambrosewicz (4). It is expensive for a society to comfortably enjoy life amidst conflicts. During was, for instance, basic amenities become scarce. To achieve these social amenities, peaceful coexistence is a requirement. A look at attitudinal shifts reveals that very few resources are spent to achieve coexistence. As such, attitudes that enhance respect and tolerance are inexpensive ways of resolving conflicts.

Another reason why these attitudes are a solution to societal challenges is the importance of peaceful coexistence. Agius and Ambrosewicz (18) argue that an increase in the size of global population highlights the need for coexistence. Land is not increasing. It remains static as population size rises. As such, it is important for people to coexist in harmony. Through tolerance, people are able to appreciate their diversity and share the available resources without bias. However, in the absence of tolerance and respect, chaos would reign and nobody stands to benefit. Basso (45) makes a similar assertion in the narrative The Spirit Catches You.

Recommendations

The discussions in this essay have expounded on the challenges facing humanity. The illustrations about the negative effects of conflict have made it necessary to address attitudinal changes in the society. Agius and Ambrosewicz (23) argue that tolerance and respect are the responses needed to address the problems associated with multicultural societies. Globalization comes with diversities, making it necessary for people to adjust their attitudes. In light of this, the report makes the following recommendations:

Future generations require peace if they are to enjoy their life. The thesis statement envisages tolerance and respect as the key to ending conflict. Education can be used to promote tolerance and respect (Agius and Ambrosewicz 23). People should be taught about the importance of equality. A comprehensive form of education is needed to help the public understand the benefits of diversity. The education should be viewed as beneficial, not as a threat.

Legislation

The author of this essay finds that intolerance may be brought about by legal loopholes. It is important for societies to ensure that intolerance and disrespect are treated as crimes. According to Agius and Ambrosewicz (24), punitive measures are important in phasing out criminal activities. As such, if intolerance and disrespect are criminalized, individuals may begin to appreciate each others’ diversity.

Conflict is one of the problems facing people in a multicultural society. Depending on the background of different individuals, biases are bound to occur when there are divergences in terms of culture (Basso 47). Tolerance and respect are attitudes that can help people appreciate their diversity. Rather than viewing people from different cultures as threats, tolerance and respect helps to illustrate the benefits of the same. Diversity in a multicultural society has a lot of benefits. However, the only way to exploit these benefits is by allowing tolerance and respect to thrive.

Agius, Emmanuel, and Jolanta Ambrosewicz. Towards a Culture of Tolerance and Peace, Montreal: International Bureau for Children Rights, 2003. Print.

Basso, Keith 1984, Course on Language and Thought in Native American Cultures , Yale University, School of Social Sciences. Print.

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The Different Faces of Social Tolerance: Conceptualizing and Measuring Respect and Coexistence Tolerance

• Original Research
• Open access
• Published: 16 June 2021
• Volume 158 , pages 1105–1125, ( 2021 )

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• Evi Velthuis   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1611-3539 1 ,
• Maykel Verkuyten   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0137-1527 1 &
• Anouk Smeekes   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7726-837X 1  

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In the theoretical literature on tolerance a distinction is proposed between coexistence and respect tolerance. In three studies with four national samples of Dutch majority members, we demonstrate that these two forms of tolerance can be distinguished empirically in relation to different immigrant target groups. The findings of all studies further show that the more principled respect tolerance was negatively associated with prejudice towards immigrants, and positively associated with the acceptance of concrete minority practices, above and beyond prejudice. However, the positive association between respect tolerance and acceptance of practices was weaker for people who were more strongly concerned about the continuity of their national cultural identity. Overall, the more pragmatic coexistence tolerance was found to have no independent association with prejudicial feelings and with the acceptance of minority practices. The findings indicate that stimulating respect tolerance might be particularly helpful for improving intergroup relations in culturally diverse societies.

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Recognition and Toleration

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

1 Introduction

Tolerance is increasingly promoted in national, international, and organizational settings for establishing multicultural justice and peaceful coexistence. Leaders from various countries, the European Union, the United Nations (UN), and non-governmental organizations have all emphasized the importance of policies that promote tolerance which, among others, has resulted in the UN International Day for Tolerance and a ‘ European model law for the promotion of tolerance and the suppression of intolerance ’ (European Council on Tolerance & Reconciliation, 2015 ). Similarly, religious and civic associations as well as schools worldwide promulgate social tolerance Footnote 1 as a critical aspect of social life, often as a response to increasing diversity resulting from continuing immigration. In western societies, tolerance is frequently discussed in relation to the accommodation of immigrant groups and Muslim minorities in particular (Verkuyten et al., 2019 ).

Tolerance is a counteracting force against suppression and negative interference, allowing dissenting others the right to lead the life that they want (Norris, 2002 ). It is a particular type of liberty that requires the application of a notion of freedom to those who are disliked or to practices and beliefs one disapproves of (Cohen, 2004 ; King, 2012 ). However, people can have different reasons for being tolerant: for why they accept that dissenting others can affirm their views and live their life accordingly. Yet, little empirical research has explicitly considered these reasons to tolerate (see Hjerm et al., 2019 ; Klein & Zick, 2013 ). Two main reasons are, first, avoiding societal conflicts and, second, respecting the equal standing and rights of others (Verkuyten et al., 2019 ). These two reasons are similar to two forms of tolerance that have been put forward in a historical and conceptual analysis by Forst ( 2013 ) and which can be present in society simultaneously, namely coexistence tolerance and respect tolerance Footnote 2 (Forst, 2017 ). These forms of tolerance differ in how strongly they are based on pragmatic rather than principled concerns – corresponding to principled and pragmatic ways of reasoning about societal issues (e.g., Colombo, 2021 ) – and therefore might have different implications for intergroup relations in culturally diverse societies.

The aim of the current research is to advance the study of social tolerance by examining these two forms of tolerance among four national samples of majority group members in the Netherlands. We examined the meaning and distinctiveness of both forms of tolerance in relation to dissenting others in general, towards different types of minority and immigrant target groups, in relation to concrete practices of Muslims (Study 3), and in relation to prejudice (Studies 1–3). As tolerance entails accepting the freedoms of others that one dislikes or objects to, considering the different forms of tolerance and their associations with prejudice provides insight into the issue to what extent tolerance and prejudice co-occur (Fairlamb & Cinnirella, 2020 ; Gibson, 2006 ). Additionally, also majority members who are more tolerant of minorities and immigrants might want to maintain a sense of in-group continuity (Smeekes & Verkuyten, 2015 ). Therefore, in Study 3, we also examined whether the expected positive tolerance-acceptance association is weaker when majority members are more concerned about the continuation of their in-group culture and identity.

1.1 Forms of social tolerance

Tolerance implies the notion that dissenting others, and minorities in particular, should be able to live the life that they want (Norris, 2002 ). In general, people might have more principled or more pragmatic reasons for putting up with what they dislike or object to (Verkuyten et al., 2019 ).

Respect tolerance is based on the principled belief that all citizens are autonomous individuals who have equal rights. Although there are sometimes ‘deep’ cultural differences in ways of life, minority members are tolerated because they are respected as equal, autonomous citizens with the same dignity, rights and civil liberties (Hjerm et al., 2019 ; Simon, 2007 ).

Coexistence tolerance implies a more pragmatic acceptance of minority groups’ ways of life in order to avoid conflicts and to find and maintain peaceful cohabitation (Kirchner et al., 2011 ). Here the focus is not so much on the rights of minority groups but rather on living together. Coexistence tolerance is considered instrumental to the attainment of the value of maintaining social harmony and peace, and things that go against this should not be tolerated.

Going beyond initial empirical research in Germany (Klein & Zick, 2013 ), we examined these two conceptualizations of tolerance in relation to various minority target groups, and empirically tested the prediction that these two forms of tolerance are distinct understandings among the public ( Hypothesis 1a ). Furthermore, using an experimental design, we examined whether both forms have a similar distinctive meaning in relation to different immigrant groups. The two forms of tolerance represent general reasons for why people tolerate ‘others’ and do not refer to specific immigrant groups or specific practices and lifestyles. This should make comparisons across groups possible (Hjerm et al., 2019 ). If people think that minority members should be allowed to live the life that they want for pragmatic or more principled reasons, they are likely to distinguish these two reasons consistently across groups. This means that we expected that the two forms of tolerance can be empirically distinguished in relation to different types of immigrant groups, with each form having a similar meaning in relation to these groups ( Hypothesis 1b ).

Distinguishing the two forms of tolerance in relation to different immigrant target groups does not have to mean, however, that the level of endorsement is similar across the groups. For example, the endorsement of coexistence tolerance might be stronger in relation to immigrant groups that are perceived to be culturally more different or as posing a greater challenge to societal cohesion than other immigrant groups. This could mean, for example, that Dutch majority members emphasize coexistence tolerance more strongly in relation to Muslim immigrants and non-Western immigrants, as compared to non-Muslim and Western immigrants. Yet it is also possible that the different reasons for being tolerant are not immigrant group-specific. Some research suggests that anti-immigrant attitudes are quite similar towards different groups of migrants (e.g., Kinder & Kam, 2009 ; Sniderman et al., 2004 ), because these attitudes would be driven by underlying psychological predispositions and ideological beliefs. The same might be true for the two forms of tolerance which both emphasize, although for different reasons, the general importance of minorities being able to live the life that they want. Therefore, we explored whether the level of endorsement of the two forms of tolerance depends on the particular type of immigrant target group.

1.2 Tolerance and Prejudice

Tolerance and prejudice are theoretically and empirically distinct phenomena (e.g., Gibson, 2006 ; Hjerm et al., 2019 ; Klein & Zick, 2013 ; Verkuyten et al., 2020 ). People can have negative beliefs and feelings about a group but nevertheless support the civil liberties of that group to live the life that they want. They are capable of accepting practices and beliefs of those whom they dislike, disapprove of, or disagree with. Furthermore, people can reject specific practices (e.g., ritual slaughter of animals) of a group (e.g., Jews, Muslims) to whom they have neutral or even positive feelings (Hurwitz & Mondak, 2002 ; Van der Noll, 2014 ). Consequently, previous research has found mixed results for the relation between tolerance and prejudice (e.g., Fairlamb & Cinnirella, 2020 ). Since the two forms of tolerance differ in their general reasons for allowing minority groups to live their own way of life, the association between tolerance and prejudice might depend on the specific form of tolerance. This would further validate the meaningfulness of making a distinction between the two forms, and shed light on the extent to which tolerance and prejudice co-occur.

Respect-based tolerance focuses on the civic status of minority members as autonomous members of society. When people respect members of another group as equals, it is likely that they are not strongly negative towards this group. In research among Tea Party supporters (Simon et al., 2018 ), it was found that respect for homosexuals and Muslims as equal fellow citizens goes together with more positive attitudes towards those out-groups. Furthermore, a study in Sweden found respect-based tolerance to be associated with lower prejudice towards immigrants (Hjerm et al., 2019 ; but see Klein & Zick, 2013 ). Therefore, we expected that stronger endorsement of respect tolerance is associated with lower prejudice towards (immigrant) minorities ( Hypothesis 2 ).

The coexistence conception of tolerance focuses on societal harmony and the peaceful functioning of society. Its instrumental and more conditional nature makes it morally less imperative than respect tolerance. Coexistence tolerance is a question of societal risks and opportunities in a given time and place, and emphasizes that majority and minority groups live together in society. This might imply a less clear and robust association with prejudice towards minorities. For instance, Klein and Zick ( 2013 ) found no independent relation between coexistence tolerance and prejudice. In some situations also people with prejudicial feelings might be willing to accept others in order to prevent conflicts and secure peaceful coexistence. They may think that in given circumstances it is in society’s best interest to tolerate minorities to live the life that they want. However, in other situations prejudiced people might feel that suppression and exclusion rather than tolerance is in the best interest of society. Thus, we will explore how coexistence tolerance relates to prejudicial feelings, and whether it is associated with prejudice independently of respect tolerance.

Additionally, we examined whether the relations between the two forms of tolerance and prejudice are similar for four types of immigrant target groups (Western, non-Western, Muslim, non-Muslim). It is possible, for example, that the coexistence-prejudice association is more pronounced for immigrant groups that are considered culturally more dissimilar, than for other groups for instance accepted for pragmatic reasons. However, for principally-based respect tolerance, the relations with prejudice are likely to be the same across different types of immigrant groups.

1.3 Tolerance and the Acceptance of Minority Practices

Research has shown that there often is a difference in the way in which people judge abstract reasons and general notions in comparison to concrete cases and specific situations (Dixon et al., 2017 ). It is one thing to agree with the general notion that minority members have the freedom to live the life that they want, but another to accept, for example, the ritual slaughter of animals or Muslim teachers in public schools wearing a headscarf. It is around concrete issues (e.g., dress code, religious education, language use, dietary requirements, mosque building, parenting styles) that ways of life collide and the need for acceptance of cultural diversity arises. Therefore, it is important to examine whether the two forms of tolerance are associated with the acceptance of concrete minority practices, above and beyond group-based prejudice. Study 3 focuses on tolerance of Muslim minority practices, Footnote 3 as the immigrant-origin group that is most strongly and most negatively debated in Dutch society (Andriessen, 2016 ). Demonstrating that the two forms of tolerance are independently related to the acceptance of these practices would provide further support for the meaningfulness of the distinction between these conceptualizations of tolerance.

With regard to respect tolerance, people may think that some controversial minority practices (e.g., Muslim public school teachers wearing a headscarf) are without merit, but still accept others to practice these because they respect them as autonomous members of society with equal rights. Simon and Schaefer ( 2018 ) found that accepting dissenting practices and beliefs is likely when there is respect for others as fellow, equal citizens (see also, Simon et al., 2018 ). Thus, respect tolerance can be expected to be associated positively with the acceptance of Muslim minority practices, above and beyond prejudicial feelings ( Hypothesis 3a ).

Coexistence tolerance focuses on the values of peace and societal harmony, which might be a reason for allowing minority members to live the life that they want (Haidt, 2012 ). A pragmatic tolerant person may prefer to refrain from negatively interfering with dissenting minority practices because they think that an intolerant reaction might cause social tensions, resistance and conflicts. Thus, coexistence tolerance also can be expected to be associated positively to the acceptance of concrete Muslim minority practices, on top of prejudice ( Hypothesis 3b ).

1.4 The Role of Identity Continuity Concern

Tolerance differs from indifference (‘who cares’) and relativism (‘anything goes’) since there are boundaries to what can and should be accepted (Cohen, 2004 ; Fairlamb & Cinnirella, 2020 ; King, 2012 ). Perceived in-group continuity has been discussed as an important boundary condition of what is acceptable (Verkuyten et al., 2019 ). Things that threaten or undermine the continuity of the in-group culture and identity are difficult to accept. This means that the expected positive associations between the two forms of tolerance and the acceptance of minority practices might depend on concerns about in-group identity continuity.

Research indicates that people want to maintain a sense of in-group continuity and more strongly strive for or are more concerned for maintaining it when such a sense is challenged, for instance by societal changes due to immigration and increasing cultural diversity (Smeekes & Verkuyten, 2015 ; Vignoles, 2011 ). Some immigrant cultural practices and expressive rights can be perceived as undermining the continuity of the national cultural identity, also for majority members who endorse the general notions of respect and coexistence tolerance. Experimental research has shown that people reject minority practices which are considered to contradict society’s normative and moral ways of life (e.g., Helbling & Traunmüller, 2018 ; Sleijpen et al., 2020 ). Thus, beliefs about tolerance might not always translate into acceptance of concrete practices if people are concerned about the continuity of their in-group’s identity. All in all, we expected that the association between the endorsement of (a) respect tolerance and (b) coexistence tolerance with the acceptance of Muslim minority practices is less strong for majority members who are more concerned about the continuity of their in-group’s cultural identity ( Hypothesis 4a and 4b ).

1.5 Overview

We investigated our predictions in three studies using four datasets collected among national samples of Dutch majority members. Hypotheses 1a and 2 were tested with all four samples in order to examine whether the expected empirical distinction between the two forms of tolerance exists. Additionally, we investigated whether the expected differential associations with prejudice replicates across samples, and for prejudicial feelings towards dissenting others in general (Study 1a), towards cultural minorities (Study 1b), towards different immigrant groups (Study 2), and towards Muslim immigrants (Study 3).

In Study 2 we used an experimental design to test whether the meaning and endorsement of the two forms of tolerance is immigrant-group specific or rather similar across immigrant groups ( Hypothesis 1b). Specifically, we varied the immigrant category about which participants had to answer the tolerance questions across the conditions, comparing Western versus non-Western immigrants, and Muslim versus non-Muslim immigrants. Also, we explored whether the tolerance-prejudice relations are similar across these four target groups. Lastly, in Study 3 we examined whether the two forms of tolerance are positively associated with the acceptance of concrete Muslim minority practices ( Hypothesis 3a/b ), and whether these associations are less strong for people who are more concerned about in-group identity continuity ( Hypothesis 4a/b ).

In testing these predictions, we included several control variables that have been found to be associated with tolerance and prejudice: level of education (e.g., Coenders & Scheepers, 2003 ), political orientation (e.g., Bansak et al., 2016 ), national identification (e.g., Gieling et al., 2014 ), religious affiliation (e.g., Van der Noll & Saroglou, 2015 ), age (e.g., O’Rourke & Sinnott, 2006 ) and gender (e.g., Van Doorn, 2014 ). When examining the relationships with acceptance of minority practices in Study 3 , we additionally included prejudice as a control variable to assess the unique statistical associations of the two forms of tolerance, over and above prejudice.

The aim of Study 1 was to test whether the two forms of tolerance can be empirically distinguished and are independently related to prejudice. We tested these predictions in relation to tolerance of other people in general who ‘have a dissenting way of life’ (Study 1a) and subsequently referring to ‘the way of life of cultural minorities’ (Study 1b). This allowed us to assess the generality of the distinction between the more principled and pragmatic forms of tolerance and their relation with prejudice.

2.1.1 Data and Participants

In Study 1a, a sample of 1050 Dutch majority members participated with consent in an online survey. Potential respondents were selected from the Kantar Public consumer panel for fieldwork in the Netherlands (response rate 51%). From this online panel, a national sample of the ethnic Dutch population aged 18 years and older was compiled via a stratification procedure based on gender, age, education, household size and region. Four participants who identified as Muslim were excluded ( N  = 1046). Approximately half of the sample (51%) was female, and participants were between 18 and 85 years old ( M  = 47.00, SD  = 15.67).

In Study 1b, a different sample of Dutch majority members was selected by Kantar Public from the TNS NIPO database to complete an online survey, consisting of eight version that were randomly presented to the participants (response rate 48%). Two versions of the survey contained the tolerance measures, which resulted in N  = 218. Eight participants were excluded from the analyses because they indicated that their parents were not Dutch, resulting in an analytical sample of 210. Approximately half of the sample (51%) was female, and participants were between 18 and 85 years old ( M  = 51.47, SD  = 16.71).

2.1.2 Measures

In Studies 1a and 1b, the two forms of tolerance were measured with three items each, using 7-point Likert-scales for answering (1 =  strongly disagree , 7 =  strongly agree ). Some of the items were adapted from Klein and Zick ( 2013 ), who used items that showed relatively low reliabilities (α = 0.50 to α = 0.62). Therefore we developed additional items that focused more directly on tolerance by using a similar stem (see Table A1 in supplementary material). In Study 1 a, the items were measured in relation to no specific group, and were preceded by the following introductory text: ‘Imagine that the dissenting way of life of certain people is rejected by the majority of the population. Below are reasons why these people may still live their life as they wish (within the confines of the law). To what extent do you agree or disagree with these reasons?’. In Study 1b, tolerance was measured in relation to cultural minorities in the Netherlands and the items were preceded by: ‘Below are several reasons for tolerating dissenting ways of life of cultural minorities. To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of these reasons?’. A sample item for respect tolerance is ‘…because they have the equal right to live their own life’ (α = 0.96 in Study 1a, and α = 0.91 in Study 1b), and a sample item for coexistence tolerance is ‘… in order to avoid social conflict’ (α = 0.93 in Study 1a, and α = 0.90 in Study 1b).

Prejudicial feelings were measured with the well-known ‘feeling thermometer’ that ranged from 1 (0°, very cold feelings ) to 11 (100°, very warm feelings ), with 50° explicitly indicated as neutral feelings. Using feeling thermometers with wider ranges of responses than Likert-type scales generates a more reliable measure (Alwin, 1997 ), and these explicit measures tend to correlate with subtler methods of assessing prejudice (Dovidio et al., 2001 ). In Study 1a, respondents indicated their warm or cold feelings towards nine minority groups in the Netherlands: immigrants, refugees, Muslims, Poles, Rumanians, Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans and Surinamese in the Netherlands, and the combined items formed a reliable scale (α = 0.94). In Study 1 b, the minority target groups were: Rumanian, Bulgarian, Polish, Turkish, Moroccan and Muslim, refugees and asylum seekers in the Netherlands (α = 0.93). All items were recoded so that a higher score indicated higher prejudice.

Besides age (continuous variable), gender (0 = men, 1 = women) and religious affiliation (0 = no affiliation, 1 = religious), we measured three other constructs that were used as control variables. National identification was assessed in Study 1a with two items (‘I identify with the Netherlands’ and ‘I feel connected to other Dutch people’; r  = 0.57) on 7-point scales, and in Study 1b with a single item that has been shown to be a reliable and valid measure: ‘How strongly do you feel Dutch?’ (1 =  not at all, 10 =  completely ) (Postmes et al., 2013 ). Political orientation was assessed with the well-known self-placement question (Jost, 2006 ) with a scale (7-point in Study 1a, and 5-point in Study 1b) ranging from a (strongly) left orientation via a center to a (strongly) right orientation, and was treated as a continuous variable in the analyses. Last, for assessing level of education , in both studies, participants indicated their highest educational achievement on a scale ranging from 1 ( no/only primary school ) to 7 ( master degree at (applied) university level ). The distinction between these levels of achieved education is comparable to the international ISCED measure that is used, for instance, in the European Social Survey. Similar to other research in the Netherlands (e.g., Van Tubergen & Van de Werfhorst, 2007 ), education was treated as a continuous variable in the analysis.

2.1.3 Analytic Strategy

We first used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in M plus version 7.3 (Muthén & Muthén, 1998–2012 ) to examine whether the items load onto the three latent constructs coexistence and respect tolerance, and prejudice. Subsequently, for examining the associations between the variables—without making any claims about a direction of influence—we specified a structural equation model in M plus in which prejudice was regressed on the two tolerance forms, and we controlled for the (manifest and mean-centered) control variables. Descriptive statistics and correlations were retrieved from SPSS 24.0.

There were no missing values on the key variables of interest, but in Study 1a there were missing values on the control variables political orientation ( N  = 144) and religious affiliation ( N  = 20). In Study 1b, there were only missing values for political orientation ( N  = 30). The missing values were dealt with in Mplus by using full information maximum likelihood (FIML; Graham, 2003 ).

2.2 Results

2.2.1 two forms of tolerance.

In Study 1a, results of the CFA demonstrated that a three-factor model had a good fit to the data, χ 2 (86) = 644.40, p  < 0.001; CFI = 0.96; TLI = 0.95; RMSEA = 0.08 [0.07–0.09]; SRMR = 0.03. The model included one modification, letting the errors of two prejudice items covary, and all factor loadings were above 0.68 (Kline, 2016 ). Footnote 4 Subsequently, we tested a series of alternative models, which fit the data significantly worse than the proposed model (see Table A2 in supplementary material).

In Study 1 b, results of the CFA showed that the proposed three-factor structure needed modifications for the prejudice items to reach an acceptable fit to the data. We maintained the two forms of tolerance as first-order factors, and used a second-order factor for prejudice, with three meaningful lower-order factors loading onto the second-order factor (Muthén & Muthén 1998–2012). The three lower-order factors clustered the minority groups that were similar in origin, religion or migration background: Muslims, Turkish and Moroccan immigrants formed one factor; Rumanian, Bulgarian and Polish immigrants formed another; and refugees and asylum seekers formed a third factor. The second-order factor allowed us to use a single latent score for prejudice towards all eight immigrant minority groups, while accounting for the covariance within the factor. This resulted in an acceptable fit: χ 2 (71) = 202.89, p  < 0.001; CFI = 0.95; TLI = 0.93; RMSEA = 0.09 [0.08–0.11]; SRMR = 0.06. All standardized factor loadings were above 0.75 (Kline, 2016 ). Footnote 5 For this model, items were permitted to load only on the constructs they were proposed to measure. Subsequently, we tested a series of alternative models, which fit the data significantly worse than the proposed three-factor structure (see Table A3 in supplementary material). Thus, in line with H1a , in both Study 1a and Study 1b, the two forms of tolerance were empirically distinct constructs that were also distinct from prejudice.

2.2.2 Descriptive findings

Descriptive statistics for the main variables of both samples are shown in Table 1 . On average, participants in Studies 1a and 1b endorsed respect tolerance more strongly than coexistence tolerance, t (1045) = 23.173, p  < 0.001 (Study 1a) and t (209) = 9.959, p  < 0.001 (Study 1b). Further, in both samples, respect and coexistence tolerance were positively associated, and both forms of tolerance related negatively to prejudice.

2.2.3 Relations Between Forms of Tolerance and Prejudice

We regressed prejudice on the two forms of tolerance (see Table 2 ). Adding the control variables to the analyses did not change the results (see Table A4 and Table A5 in the supplementary material). For both samples, the findings demonstrated that stronger respect tolerance was associated with lower prejudice (in line with H2 ) and that coexistence tolerance was not independently associated with prejudice.

Extending the findings of Study 1, the aim of Study 2 was to examine whether people consistently distinguish between and similarly interpret the two forms of tolerance in relation to different immigrant target groups ( H1b ). Additionally, we explored whether tolerance is equally endorsed in relation to these target groups. We used an experimental design, manipulating the immigrant target group in relation to which the tolerance questions were asked. Specifically, we made a distinction between four broad immigrant categories that are commonly used in Dutch public and political debates (Cinalli & Giugni, 2013 ; Gijsberts & Lubbers, 2009 ): the distinction between Western and non-Western immigrants, and the distinction between Muslim and non-Muslim immigrants. Lastly, we explored whether the relations between tolerance and prejudice were similar across the four immigrant categories.

3.1.1 Data and Participants

This study used an online survey which was collected by research organization Ipsos, which used the GfK panel to approach a gross sample of 1640 panel members (response rate 52%). Eighteen respondents were removed by GfK to assure data quality. Eight participants were excluded from data analysis because they indicated that they were Muslim or that both of their parents were not Dutch (resulting in N  = 824). Half of the sample (51%) was female, and participants were between 18 and 88 years old ( M  = 54.94, SD  = 16.21).

3.1.2 Design and Measures

For the survey-embedded experiment, participants were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions that differed from each other in terms of the immigrant target group (Western, non-Western; Muslim, non-Muslim immigrants). In all four conditions, participants were presented with the same introductory text, tailored towards the specific category of immigrants that ‘can (within the confines of the law) live as they wish’. The same set of items for measuring respect tolerance (α = 0.91) and coexistence tolerance (α = 0.89) was used as in Studies 1a and 1b.

For prejudice towards immigrants we again used the same ‘feeling thermometer’ which assessed feelings towards four immigrant groups: refugees, and Turkish, Moroccan and Muslim immigrants in the Netherlands (α = 0.90).

We measured the same six control variables (level of education, national identification, political orientation, age, gender and religious affiliation) with exactly the same single item questions as in Study 1 b. Political orientation was measured as in Study 1 a, on a 7-point answer scale. Moreover, level of education had one different answer category than in Study 1 b, creating a higher mean (see Table 1 ).

3.1.3 Analytic Strategy

Analyses for the full sample (i.e., collapsing the four immigrant categories) were conducted first to test the same hypotheses as in Study 1 . We used a CFA (in M plus ) to examine whether the two tolerance forms and prejudice were empirically distinct constructs. Subsequently, we specified a structural equation model, regressing prejudice on the tolerance forms.

Second, the data were analyzed across the four categories by testing multiple-group models. CFAs for all separate groups were conducted to examine whether the two forms of tolerance had the same meaning across the target groups. Subsequently, measurement invariance analyses were performed to test whether the measures (e.g., meaning of items, means and regression coefficients) could be compared across the four target groups. Furthermore, Wald-tests were used to compare the mean level of endorsement across groups. Lastly, we specified a structural equation model, regressing prejudice on the two forms of tolerance and comparing these relations across the four target groups.

There were no missing values on the main dependent and independent variables, but there were missing values for the three control variables national identification ( N  = 2), religious affiliation ( N  = 10) and political orientation ( N  = 92). Again, those were dealt with in M plus by using FIML.

3.2 Results

3.2.1 two forms of tolerance.

CFA for the full sample replicated the results of Studies 1a and 1b by showing that the two forms of tolerance were empirically distinct ( H1a) . The proposed three-factor structure (respect tolerance, coexistence tolerance, prejudice Footnote 6 ) had a good fit to the data without modifications, χ 2 (32) = 104.42, p  < 0.001; CFI = 0.988; TLI = 0.983; RMSEA = 0.052 [0.041–0.064]; SRMR = 0.028, and all standardized factor loadings were above 0.74. The three-factor model fit the data significantly better than various two- and a single-factor model (see Table A6 in supplementary material).

Again, on average participants agreed more strongly with respect tolerance compared to coexistence tolerance, t (823) = 25.00, p  < 0.001 (see Table 1 ). Similar to studies 1a and 1b, respect and coexistence tolerance were positively associated, and again, both related negatively to prejudice.

3.2.2 Relations of Tolerance With Prejudice

Table 2 shows the results of a structural model which regressed prejudice on the two forms of tolerance. Both latent forms of tolerance had an independent significant relation with prejudice. Similar to studies 1a and 1b, stronger endorsement of respect tolerance was associated with lower prejudice ( H2 ). Additionally, in Study 2 coexistence tolerance was also independently but weakly associated with lower prejudice, but this association was not significant ( p  = 0.074) after adding the control variables (see Table A7 in supplementary material).

3.2.3 Two Forms of Tolerance Across Four Immigrant Target Groups

To ensure that participants who were asked about the four different target groups interpreted the tolerance questions similarly, we tested for measurement invariance of the two-factor structure (respect and coexistence tolerance). Measurement invariance was tested by means of a multiple-group CFA, consecutively testing metric, scalar, and full uniqueness invariance (Van de Schoot et al., 2012 ). The model in which full invariance is assumed, had the lowest value for the Akaike (AIC) and Bayesian (BIC) index, indicating the best trade-off between model complexity and model fit (Van de Schoot et al., 2012 ). Moreover, CFI did not change more than 0.01 between the configural, metric, scalar and full invariance models, indicating that the threshold for full invariance was reached (Chen, 2007 ), which was confirmed by non-significant differences in χ 2 between the models (see Table A8 in supplementary material). The other fit indices of this full invariance model also indicated a good fit. This means that the findings for the four immigrant target groups can be meaningfully compared on the latent tolerance constructs (e.g., mean scores, associations between the constructs across groups and with other variables across groups), which confirmed H1b (i.e., a similar distinctive meaning of each form of tolerance in relation to different immigrant target groups).

Comparing the mean tolerance scores between the four immigrant categories (see Table A9 in supplementary material) indicated that there were no significant differences in mean scores for respect tolerance ( Wald (3) = 0.53, p  = 0.913), and for coexistence tolerance ( Wald (3) = 6.50, p  = 0.090). Thus the two forms of tolerance were equally endorsed in relation to the four immigrant target groups.

3.2.4 Relations of the Tolerance Forms with Prejudice Across Target Groups

In order to test whether the tolerance-prejudice relationships were the same across the four target groups, we estimated a multiple-group comparison in our structural equation model (see Table A10 in supplementary material). Wald-tests showed that there were no differences across the four immigrant categories in the respect-prejudice relation ( Wald (3) = 2.19, p  = 0.534) and the coexistence-prejudice relation ( Wald (3) = 1.83, p  = 0.608).

Study 3 specifically focused on Muslims as the immigrant-origin group that is most strongly debated and negatively evaluated in Dutch society (Andriessen, 2016 ). The first aim was to examine whether the two forms of tolerance are associated with the acceptance of concrete Muslim minority practices, independently of the level of prejudice ( H3a and H3b ). Additionally, we examined whether these associations depend on the degree of concern about in-group identity continuity ( H4a and H4b).

4.1.1 Data and Participants

A total of 815 respondents participated in the study after being drawn from a representative pool of ethnic Dutch. Data were collected with an online survey by research agency GfK , with a response rate of 54%. One case was excluded because the person self-identified as a Muslim. Since the questions about acceptance of concrete practices were asked to only half of the sample, this resulted in an analytical sample of N  = 411. Similar to the previous studies, the sample consisted of 50% women and participants were between 18 and 92 years old ( M  = 52.21, SD  = 16.71).

4.1.2 Measures

Respect (α = 0.90) and coexistence (α = 0.90) tolerance were measured with the same items as in Study 1 b.

Prejudice towards Muslims was again measured with a feeling thermometer, but this time only towards Muslims in the Netherlands.

Acceptance of Muslim minority practices was measured with three items (7-point scales; 1 =  strongly disagree , 7 =  strongly agree ) that involve practices which have triggered strong public debates and have been used in previous research in the Netherlands (Adelman & Verkuyten, 2020 ): ritual slaughter of animals by Muslims, Muslim public school teachers wearing a headscarf, and the building of new mosques. A higher score indicated greater acceptance (α = 0.73).

Identity continuity concern was assessed with three items (on the same 7-point scales) that were adapted from previous research (Smeekes & Verkuyten, 2015 ), and reflect a concern about the maintenance of Dutch cultural identity. We focus on identity continuity concern as a possible boundary condition for acceptance and the items were formulated to reflect this: ‘immigrants in the Netherlands can live as they wish as long as Dutch culture is preserved’, ‘…if Dutch traditions continue to exist’, and ‘…as long as Dutch identity is not affected’. These were combined into a mean score (α = 0.92), with a higher score indicating more concern for identity continuity.

The same measures as in the previous studies were used for the control variables age (continuous variable), gender (0 = men, 1 = women) and religious affiliation (0 = no affiliation, 1 = religious). For national identification and political orientation we again used the single item measures and scales as in Study 1 b, and for level of education, the same question and answer scale was used as in Study 2 .

Missing values ( N  = 109) for the control variable political orientation were dealt with by using FIML. For the moderation model, we included two (latent) interaction terms, and followed up with simple slope analysis (Aiken, West, & Reno, 1991 ) using M plus .

4.2 Results

4.2.1 two forms of tolerance.

We first used CFA for testing H1a and whether the two forms of tolerance, continuity concern, and acceptance of concrete practices represented empirically distinct constructs. The four-factor structure had an acceptable fit to the data, χ 2 (47) = 163.29, p  < 0.001; CFI = 0.965; TLI = 0.951; RMSEA = 0.078 [0.065–0.091]; SRMR = 0.048. Modification indices suggested allowing the errors between two of the coexistence items to covary, and all standardized factor loadings were above 0.60. Footnote 7 Subsequently, we tested all possible alternative three-, two- and one-factor models and these fit the data significantly worse than the proposed four-factor structure (see Table A11 in supplementary material).

4.2.2 Descriptive Findings

Similar to Studies 1 and 2, participants more strongly endorsed respect tolerance than coexistence tolerance, t (410) = 21.248, p  < 0.001. Furthermore, respect and coexistence tolerance were again positively associated, and related negatively to prejudice (see Table 1 ).

4.2.3 Relations of the Tolerance Forms with Prejudice

The results from the structural equation model confirmed that respect tolerance was again negatively related to prejudice ( H2 , see Table 2). Similar to Study 1, coexistence did not independently relate to prejudice towards Muslims. Including the control variables did not change these results (see Table A12 in supplementary material).

4.2.4 Relations of the Tolerance Forms with Acceptance

The findings from the structural equation model confirmed that respect tolerance was positively related to acceptance of Muslim practices ( β  = 0.45, SE = 0.06, p  < 0.001), while controlling for prejudice towards Muslims ( H3a ). Coexistence tolerance did not independently relate to acceptance of concrete practices ( β  = 0.05, SE = 0.06, p  = 0.444). Footnote 8 Including the control variables did not change these results (see Table A13 in supplementary material).

4.2.5 Moderation of Identity Continuity Concern

The findings from the moderation model with respect and coexistence tolerance, continuity concern and their interactions, Footnote 9 demonstrated that stronger concern about identity continuity was independently associated with lower acceptance (unstandardized b  = –0.22, SE = 0.04, p  < 0.001). More importantly, there was a significant interaction between respect and continuity concern, in line with H4a ( b  = –0.07, SE = 0.04, p  = 0.042), but not between coexistence and continuity concern ( b  = 0.02, SE = 0.04, p  = 0.694), controlling for prejudice towards Muslims.

As expected, simple slope analysis probing the respect by continuity interaction indicated that at low continuity concern (–1 SD ), the relation between respect tolerance and acceptance of practices was stronger ( β  = 0.49, p  < 0.001) than at high continuity concern (+ 1 SD : β  = 0.31, p  < 0.001).

5 Discussion

Growing diversity and continuing immigration has led to an increased interest in social tolerance among policy makers and within the public and academic community. However, there can be different reasons for people to be tolerant of immigrant and minority groups, and we have focused on conceptualizing and measuring two key forms of tolerance that can be present in society at the same time: coexistence and respect tolerance (Forst, 2013 , 2017 ). Both forms emphasize that cultural ‘others’ should be able to live the life that they want, but for different reasons.

Among four national majority samples in the Netherlands we clearly found that the two forms of tolerance are empirically distinct in relation to dissenting people in general and immigrant minorities in particular. Further, using an experimental design (Study 2), we demonstrated that each form had a similar meaning and similar levels of endorsement in relation to various immigrant categories that feature in public and political debates (Western, non-Western, Muslim and non-Muslim immigrants). This means that the measures can be used to examine and compare both forms of tolerance across different immigrant target groups, and that both forms are more general rather than group-specific conceptions of tolerance.

The distinction between the two forms of tolerance was further supported by their different relations with prejudice. As expected, across the four studies, we found a robust independent negative relation between respect tolerance and prejudice. Although coexistence tolerance was also negatively correlated with prejudice, this form of tolerance only had an independent and weak association with prejudice in Study 2 . This pattern of findings demonstrates that tolerance is a phenomenon distinct from prejudice, which is in line with theoretical arguments in philosophy (Forst, 2013 ) and social psychology (Verkuyten et al., 2020 ), as well as other empirical research (Fairlamb & Cinnirella, 2020 ; Hjerm et al., 2019 ; Klein & Zick, 2013 ). Additionally, it indicates that the association between tolerance and prejudice differs for the two forms of tolerance. This means that the distinction between the two forms of tolerance might help to explain why some studies have found a relatively strong (negative) association between tolerance and prejudice (e.g., Helbling, 2014 ), while others have found no or only a weak association (Crawford, 2014 ; Van der Noll et al., 2010 ). Considering the different reasons for tolerance allows for a more detailed understanding of the difference between tolerance and prejudice and the extent to which these co-occur.

Higher respect tolerance was found to be associated with lower prejudice and was endorsed relatively strong in the four national samples. Thus, majority members tended to agree with the principle that immigrants are autonomous citizens with equal rights who have the freedom to live the life that they want. Furthermore, stronger respect tolerance was not only a general abstract belief, but was also associated with the acceptance of concrete Muslim minority practices (Study 3). Thus, respecting immigrants as fellow citizens translated into higher acceptance of concrete practices, which is in line with research in other Western countries (Hjerm et al., 2019 ; Simon et al., 2018 ).

The importance of respect tolerance for the acceptance of minority practices is further demonstrated by the fact that the association was also positive for individuals who were concerned about the continuity of their in-group culture and identity. Yet, perceived concern about identity continuity did weaken the association between respect tolerance and acceptance. Acceptance is not without its boundaries and it appears to be more difficult to accept Muslim minority practices when the continuity of the national identity is considered to be at stake (Verkuyten et al., 2019 ). Although identity continuity has been examined in relation to negative outgroup attitudes (Jetten & Wohl, 2012 ; Smeekes & Verkuyten, 2013 ), to our knowledge, this is one of the first studies that demonstrated that identity continuity can be a boundary condition to accepting minority practices.

Coexistence tolerance was negatively correlated with prejudice (all studies) and positively associated with the acceptance of Muslim practices (Study 3). Higher coexistence tolerance was also quite strongly associated with higher respect tolerance (see also Klein & Zick, 2013 ). This indicates that people who consider it important to tolerate minorities for reasons of peaceful cohabitation and societal harmony, also tend to respect them as equal citizens. However, the latter appears to be more important than the former, because coexistence tolerance was only in Study 2 independently related to prejudice, and was not independently related to the acceptance of Muslim minority practices. One possible explanation is that the more instrumental, pragmatic nature of coexistence tolerance makes it less morally imperative than respect tolerance, and therefore more contextual, resulting in a less strong relation with prejudicial feelings and the acceptance of concrete minority practices.

5.1 Limitations and Future Directions

Despite our novel contribution to the study of tolerance, there are several limitations to our research that provide directions for future studies. First, the studies were conducted among Dutch majority members and it remains to be seen whether the results can be generalized across countries (see Hjerm et al., 2019 ; Klein & Zick, 2013 ). Each country has its specific history of immigration and ways for dealing with diversity, and future research in other contexts should address to what extent context characteristics are relevant for the meaning and importance of the two forms of social tolerance.

Second, we have not examined our measures of tolerance in relation to other ways of measuring social tolerance (e.g. Hjerm et al., 2019 ), including tolerance of practices and beliefs that one explicitly dislikes or disapproves of (e.g., Sleijpen et al., 2020 ). This comparison was beyond the scope of our research and could be addressed in future studies. Furthermore and similar to other studies (Adelman & Verkuyten, 2020 ; Sniderman & Hagendoorn, 2007 ), we investigated the acceptance of three Muslim minority practices, but the relation between tolerance and acceptance of minority practices might vary according to the specific type of practice and target minority group (e.g., sexual minorities), which could be examined in future research.

Third, it should be noted that in Study 2 the experimental manipulation about the different target groups involved the use of four broad category labels. Although the distinctions between these broad categories are widely discussed in public and policy debates, all four may have triggered similar stereotypical beliefs about newcomers. Thus, it remains to be seen whether the findings are similar if more specific group labels would be used (e.g. Polish rather than western immigrants, and Somali instead of non-western immigrants). Further, for the experimental manipulation, participants read a short introduction in an online survey, and it is possible that more extensive (personal narratives) and vivid (visual, auditive) manipulations would show target-group differences in the two forms of tolerance. However, simply mentioning these broad category labels is common in the media and in public and political debates and therefore close to empirical reality.

5.2 Conclusion

To conclude, we have tried to advance the study of social tolerance by clarifying two main forms and demonstrating that these can be assessed in a reliable and valid way. We found that in relation to various groups, people make a consistent distinction between respect and coexistence tolerance. Furthermore, these two are relatively independent of group-based prejudice, and have different relations with the acceptance of concrete minority practices. Overall, respect tolerance was found to relate to more positive attitudes towards minority groups and their practices, while coexistence tolerance had no clear independent beneficial outcomes for minority groups. Although tolerating to avoid conflicts may in some situations be the best possible option, it remains a pragmatic and not a principled solution. Stimulating respect tolerance—for instance by emphasizing equal rights for all citizens in educational programs—might be particularly helpful for improving intergroup relations in culturally diverse societies. Furthermore, it might form a stepping stone towards full recognition, or as Goethe (in Forst, 2017 , p.3) famously said: ‘Tolerance should be a temporary attitude only: it must lead to recognition’.

Availability of data and code

The anonymized research data will be available to access (via Data Archiving and Networked Services) after the ERC research project has ended. Code availability: not applicable.

We use the term social tolerance as opposed to political tolerance which centers on extending basic political rights to all members of society. Social tolerance refers to group members tolerating social and cultural practices which reproduce social identities (Verkuyten et al., 2019 ).

Forst ( 2013 ) also distinguished esteem and permission tolerance which we did not examine here . Esteem tolerance with its emphasis on valuing diversity is very similar to full recognition (Klein & Zick, 2013 ), and permission tolerance refers to the hierarchical intergroup context of tolerance rather than an underlying reason for being tolerant.

With the term “Muslim practices”, we refer to practices linked to Muslims in Western Europe and frequently debated in those societies, such as teachers wearing a headscarf in public schools. This is not to say that the practices are defining of, or undebated within Muslim communities.

A measurement model with only the tolerance items (two-factor structure) was also examined, and had a good fit to the data, χ 2 (8) = 15.07, p  = 0.058; CFI = 1.00; TLI = 1.00; RMSEA = 0.03 [0.00–0.05]; SRMR = 0.01. The model included no modifications and all standardized factor loadings were above 0.90.

A two-factor measurement model with only the tolerance items had a good fit to the data, χ 2 (7) = 9.36, p  = 0.223; CFI = 1.00; TLI = 1.00; RMSEA = 0.04 [0.00–0.10]; SRMR = 0.02. The model included one modification (letting the errors of two coexistence tolerance items covary), and all factor loadings were above .73.

A measurement with only the tolerance items had a good fit to the data, χ 2 (8) = 9.32, p  = 0.316; CFI = 1.00; TLI = 1,00; RMSEA = 0.01 [0.00–0.05]; SRMR = 0.11. The model included no modifications and all factor loadings were above .83.

A measurement model with only the tolerance items had an acceptable fit to the data, χ 2 (7) = 38.96, p  < 0.001; CFI = 0.98; TLI = 0.96; RMSEA = 0.11 [0.08–0.14]; SRMR = 0.03. The model included one modification (letting the errors of two coexistence tolerance items covary), and all factor loadings were above .74.

When analyzing a separate model for coexistence tolerance (controlling for prejudice), coexistence tolerance did show a significant positive relation to acceptance, β  = 0.29, SE = 0.05, p  < 0.001.

When analyzing two separate models this led to similar results: a significant interaction between respect and continuity, and no significant interaction between coexistence and continuity (controlling for prejudice).

Adelman, L., & Verkuyten, M. (2020). Prejudice and the acceptance of Muslim minority practices: A person-centered approach. Social Psychology, 51 (1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000380

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Velthuis, E., Verkuyten, M. & Smeekes, A. The Different Faces of Social Tolerance: Conceptualizing and Measuring Respect and Coexistence Tolerance. Soc Indic Res 158 , 1105–1125 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-021-02724-5

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Essay On Tolerance

Introduction: Tolerance can be defined as a fair and aim attitude towards those whose lifestyle differs from ours. It is a noble virtue. It is wanted everywhere. It is the virtue that helps us put up with those who have different ways and opinions, and outlooks in life. It also enables us to judge the other sides of things with patience, without losing temper.

In the past, the difference in religion led to prosecution, the difference in politics led to bad-blood and difference in opinions ended in blows. Tolerance is a virtue much needed in our turbulent world. But we must recognize that there is a difference between tolerance and tolerate.

A Social Virtue of Tolerance: Tolerance is the reflection of one’s own behavior and character. The level of tolerance varies from person to person and as per the situation. People have zero tolerance for injustice and violation of the rights. If we want humanity to flourish, then we need to practice tolerance from all walks of life. As tolerance is the spirit of humanity.

Tolerance is not only an abstract virtue but also considerable influence in the current affairs of life. Man, being a social being, has to live in a spirit of harmony and co-operation with others in society. In such a process, give and take is a necessary capacity for compromise.

We cannot persuade others unless we ourselves are at the same time ready to be persuaded by practicing sweet and reasonableness. It is thus seen that tolerance is a social virtue that is opposed to dogmatism, and dictatorship in society compromise time anus is seen. It is impossible to be tolerant if one is hide-bound and rigid in views of full of prejudices.

Real Meaning of Tolerance: Tolerance does not mean to come up against any fundamental principle. Our best self goes down if we tolerate evil. In matters relating to deeper questions and principles of life, it is our duty to stand up for them and refuse an easy compromise. But tolerance does not mean to bear up moral degradation, public nuisance acts, anti-social activities, moral corruption, wrong-doing, exploitation, and deception.

Tolerance involves both humility and meekness, engaging them to say, “I am not perfect, and I am not going to try to make this imperfect soul’s walk harder through my imperfection.”

A tolerant person does not tolerate political and financial dishonesty. But in our personal life and daily dealings, we shall have to belong bearing. Tolerance does not mean to encourage a weak-kneed attitude to life. It has a limit and beyond that, it may become a social crime. Tolerance is a virtue in the simple affairs of life.

Intolerance: Intolerance is quite opposite to it. Thousands of men and women were burnt for the difference in religion. Even today, purges of political opinions have not yet been banished from society. Intolerance comes from bigotry, narrowness, prejudice, and blind self-concept.

The Necessity of Tolerance: The world has not been set to one pattern nor have men been shaped in a single mold. It is essential to pull together with all in society. It helps a man win people’s minds and earn popularity with people. The difference in the environment or condition of life causes a difference in temperament and opinion. A historical revolution has to lead diversities in outlook. Heredity is a factor not to be overlooked.

Each distinctive overlook has its own background. A cultured person takes this into account, makes allowance for them and is ready to make concessions and compromise. Without this broad-mindedness, energy may get wasted in the futile argument. In this long run, mere passion never tends to any good nor solves any problem; passion has to be controlled and disciplined by reason and tolerance.

But as education has spread, the spirit of reason has tended to prevail and the vice of intolerance has fairly diminished. With the passage of time, we are becoming more ready to recognize the possibility of views than our own. We also look upon tolerance as a mark of education and superior culture of ethics of the polite society. All great men were tolerant. They learned it from their boyhood and practical life. The Holy Scripture says, “God loves him who is tolerant.”

Unfortunately, anarchism and intolerance seem to be on the upgrade of late. Extremists with the help of sophisticated military weapons are seeking to destabilize a country, taking a heavy toll of innocent lives. Angry young man, challenging all established norms, now parades the walks of life. Tolerance has been cast to the wilds by them. Our aim should be to tackle them with a strong hand and then, of permissible, bring them to the conference table.

Our duty of Tolerance: John Stuart Mill wrote: “If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.”

Tolerance is entertained everywhere. It is not a question that we should either be tolerant or intolerant after we have considered every pro and cons of anything. We know that more tolerant means a fool or a block-headed person. Tolerance does not mean to bear with any violence, injustice, unlawful acts with patience or silence. It means to watch and observe anything out of great patience. It aims or points at keeping politeness before having a clearance of anything.

Conclusion: Tolerance in true sense is to give consideration to others. Tolerance is a reflection of one’s own behavior and character. The consequence of tolerance is good for a tolerant. It is supported by every intellectual whole-heartedly.

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1 A Tolerant Society

• Published: January 2017
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This first chapter introduces the main premises and ideas for the book. It begins by outlining three challenges that need to be addressed in any defence of toleration and traditional liberalism: The Multicultural Challenge, The Despotism Challenge , and The Neutrality Challenge . The chapter argues for an understanding of toleration that is justified through freedom, and applies this to diversity in its broadest sense—that is, not simply cultural or belief-dependent. It introduces the idea of toleration as permissive, and grounds its understanding in traditional liberalism. The importance of distinguishing between different agents of toleration is drawn out—in this case, the state or the citizen. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the role of principles in political theory.

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Stellarshade

Powerful Tales of Tolerance: Real-Life Stories that Inspire

By Margot Ginter

In a world plagued by division and strife, stories of tolerance serve as a beacon of hope, reminding us of the power of empathy and acceptance. These real-life tales of individuals who have embraced diversity, shattered stereotypes, and overcome their own biases are a testament to the triumph of the human spirit. From the heartwarming accounts of friendships forged across cultural boundaries to the inspiring narratives of those who have stood up against discrimination, these stories remind us that tolerance knows no barriers. Whether it is a tale of religious harmony, racial unity, or acceptance of individuals with disabilities, these stories shine a light on the possibility of a more inclusive and compassionate world. By sharing these narratives, we not only celebrate the courage and resilience of those who have chosen the path of tolerance, but also inspire others to embrace diversity and foster understanding in their own lives. These real-life stories about tolerance are a powerful reminder that, despite our differences, we are all connected by our shared humanity.

Disadvantages

Can you provide an example from real life that demonstrates tolerance, can you give me an example of someone being tolerant, can you provide an instance of tolerance in the field of ethics, from prejudice to acceptance: inspiring real-life stories of tolerance, breaking barriers: extraordinary real-life tales of tolerance and understanding.

• Provides a deeper understanding of different perspectives: Real life stories about tolerance offer a window into the experiences and struggles of individuals from diverse backgrounds. By engaging with these stories, English learners can develop a greater understanding of different cultures, beliefs, and values, promoting empathy and acceptance.
• Enhances language skills and vocabulary: Exploring real life stories about tolerance exposes learners to a wide range of vocabulary and language structures. Through reading or listening to these stories, learners can expand their vocabulary, learn new idiomatic expressions, and improve their overall language skills.
• Encourages critical thinking and reflection: Real life stories about tolerance often present complex social issues and dilemmas. Engaging with these narratives in English enables learners to critically analyze and reflect upon the themes and lessons conveyed. This promotes critical thinking skills and encourages learners to consider their own values and beliefs.
• Inspires personal growth and character development: Reading or listening to real life stories about tolerance can be incredibly inspiring and impactful. These narratives often highlight the power of empathy, compassion, and understanding, emphasizing the importance of these values in our day-to-day lives. English learners who engage with these stories can be motivated to develop their own tolerance and open-mindedness, leading to personal growth and character development.
• Cultural Bias: Real life stories about tolerance may inadvertently perpetuate cultural biases and stereotypes. Since these stories are based on specific individuals or communities, they may not accurately represent the diversity and complexity of different cultures and their experiences. This can lead to a limited and one-sided understanding of tolerance, reinforcing existing prejudices and misconceptions.
• Oversimplification: Real life stories about tolerance often simplify complex social issues and challenges. These stories are often condensed versions of multifaceted and nuanced experiences, which can lead to an oversimplified understanding of tolerance. This oversimplification may hinder the development of critical thinking skills and prevent individuals from fully grasping the complexities of tolerance in real-world scenarios.

One real-life example that demonstrates tolerance is when people engage in respectful discussions about their differing religious or political beliefs. For instance, imagine a group of friends with diverse backgrounds having a conversation about a controversial political issue. Despite their differing opinions, they listen to each other without judgment, seeking to understand and appreciate different perspectives. They may not change their views, but they maintain a sense of respect and empathy towards one another, fostering a tolerant environment where diverse opinions are valued.

In this scenario, the friends display a remarkable level of tolerance as they engage in respectful discussions about their varying religious or political beliefs. Despite their differing opinions, they listen to each other without judgment, seeking to understand and appreciate different perspectives and maintaining a sense of respect and empathy towards one another.

An example of someone being tolerant is when you encounter a person who embraces diversity and accepts others regardless of their differences. For instance, imagine a situation where someone has a roommate who constantly plays a music mix from the 1980s, which the person personally dislikes. However, they choose not to confront their roommate and instead accept their different taste in music, allowing them to enjoy their own preferences without judgment. This demonstrates their tolerance and open-mindedness towards others’ choices and preferences.

Tolerance is exemplified when individuals respect and accept diversity, embracing others’ differences without judgment. For instance, a person’s open-mindedness is demonstrated when they choose not to confront their roommate who plays music from the 1980s, despite personally disliking it. This allows both individuals to enjoy their own preferences without infringing upon each other’s choices.

One instance of tolerance in the field of ethics can be seen in the case of vegetarianism. While a vegetarian may strongly believe that eating animals is morally wrong, they may still choose to tolerate others who consume meat. Despite their personal conviction, they recognize and respect the differing beliefs and choices of others, allowing them the freedom to make their own ethical decisions regarding food. Tolerance in this context is a demonstration of understanding and acceptance, promoting harmony and coexistence among individuals with differing ethical perspectives.

Tolerance in the field of ethics is exemplified in vegetarianism, where individuals who believe eating animals is morally wrong still tolerate others who consume meat, respecting their differing beliefs and choices. This promotes understanding, acceptance, and coexistence among individuals with diverse ethical perspectives.

“From Prejudice to Acceptance: Inspiring Real-Life Stories of Tolerance” showcases the transformative power of empathy and understanding. This article delves into the personal narratives of individuals who have overcome discrimination and bigotry, shedding light on their journey towards acceptance. These poignant stories highlight the importance of embracing diversity and promoting inclusivity in our society. By sharing these narratives, we hope to inspire readers to challenge their own prejudices and foster a more tolerant and compassionate world.

Sharing real-life stories of individuals who have triumphed over discrimination and bigotry, we aim to motivate readers to confront their own biases and create a more inclusive and empathetic society.

“Breaking Barriers: Extraordinary Real-Life Tales of Tolerance and Understanding” is a captivating collection of stories that highlights the power of compassion and acceptance in overcoming adversity. From a friendship that blossomed between two individuals from opposing political backgrounds to a community that rallied together to support a marginalized group, these tales showcase the incredible potential of unity. Through these inspiring accounts, readers are reminded of the importance of embracing diversity and fostering understanding, ultimately proving that barriers can be broken when we choose empathy and respect over prejudice.

Amidst adversity and differences, stories of compassion and acceptance emerge, proving that unity has the power to overcome any barrier. These extraordinary real-life tales highlight the importance of embracing diversity and fostering understanding, reminding us to choose empathy and respect over prejudice.

In a world often plagued by division and prejudice, real-life stories about tolerance serve as powerful reminders of the strength and beauty of humanity. These stories inspire us to challenge our own biases, broaden our perspectives, and open our hearts to others. Whether it is a tale of two individuals from different cultural backgrounds sharing a common bond, or a community coming together to support a marginalized group, these narratives remind us that tolerance is not just an abstract concept but a tangible force that can transform lives. By celebrating and sharing these stories, we can foster a culture of acceptance, empathy, and understanding, ultimately creating a more inclusive and harmonious society. As we navigate the complexities of our diverse world, let us not forget the power of tolerance to bridge divides and unite us all in our shared humanity.

Relacionados

Margot Ginter is a passionate astronomer and stargazer, dedicated to exploring the wonders of the universe. With a degree in Astrophysics and years of experience in research and observation, Margot's blog is a go-to resource for all things related to stars. From explaining complex concepts to highlighting the latest astronomical discoveries, Margot's writing is both informative and inspiring. Whether you're a seasoned astronomer or simply curious about the night sky, Margot's blog is a must-read for anyone looking to deepen their knowledge and appreciation of the cosmos.

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Student Essays

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5 Paragraphs on Tolerance- Importance & Benefits of Tolerance

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Tolerance is the greatest human quality. The following Paragraph talks about Tolerance and its Importance in Life with additional focus on how to promote tolerance in life. This Paragraphs is quite helpful in simple and understandable words for children & students.

List of Topics

Paragraph on Tolerance, Its Importance, Benefits & Ways to Promote Tolerance in Life

Tolerance is defined as the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in spite of feeling negatively about it. It is an important value to uphold in society, as it allows for different people to coexist peacefully. Tolerance can be difficult to maintain, especially when faced with things that go against one’s personal beliefs. However, with patience and understanding, tolerance can be achieved.

Importance of Tolerance:

Tolerance is important in life because it allows for different people to coexist peacefully. When everyone is tolerant of one another, there is less conflict and more understanding. This can be beneficial for both personal relationships and larger communities. Tolerance also allows for different perspectives to be heard, which can lead to progress and innovation.

Benefits of Tolerance:

There are many benefits of tolerance for students. For one, it can promote a more positive and cooperative classroom environment. Tolerance can also help students to better understand and respect others who may have different backgrounds or beliefs. Additionally, tolerance can lead to increased academic success, as students who are tolerant of one another are more likely to be able to work together effectively. Finally, tolerant students are more likely to be successful in the workforce, as they will be able to better collaborate with a diverse group of people.

How to Promote Tolerance?

There are many ways to promote tolerance. One way is to educate yourself and others about different cultures and beliefs. This can help to increase understanding and respect for others. Additionally, it is important to be open-minded and willing to listen to different perspectives. Finally, it is also helpful to take action against intolerant behavior when you see it. By promoting tolerance, we can make the world a more peaceful and accepting place for everyone.

Conclusion:

Tolerance, therefore, is essential for a healthy and productive society. It is a value that we should all strive to uphold. By promoting tolerance, we can create a more inclusive world for everyone.

Short Paragraph on Tolerance:

Tolerance is a concept that is highly valued in today’s society. It refers to the ability to accept and respect different beliefs, opinions, and behaviors of others, even if they differ from our own. Tolerance is not just about acknowledging diversity; it also means actively embracing it.

In a world where people come from diverse backgrounds, have different cultures, religions, and values, tolerance is crucial for maintaining peace and harmony. It allows individuals to coexist peacefully despite their differences.

Tolerance promotes empathy and understanding, as it requires us to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes and see the world from their perspective. This not only helps build stronger relationships but also leads to a more inclusive and accepting society.

Practicing tolerance also means having an open mind and being willing to learn from others. It allows us to challenge our own beliefs and preconceived notions, leading to personal growth and a broader understanding of the world.

Moreover, tolerance is not just limited to accepting differences in ethnicity, religion, or culture. It also includes accepting people with different abilities, sexual orientations, and gender identities.

In conclusion, tolerance is an essential value that contributes to a more peaceful and harmonious society. It allows us to celebrate diversity and embrace our differences, ultimately leading to a better world for all. So let’s all strive to be more tolerant and spread this message of acceptance and understanding.

Paragraph on Tolerance Need of Hour:

In a world where conflict and hatred seem to be on the rise, tolerance has become an essential virtue. Tolerance refers to accepting and respecting differences in beliefs, opinions, and behaviors. It is about acknowledging that people have different life experiences and perspectives that shape their thoughts and actions.

In today’s society, diversity is more prevalent than ever before. With advancements in technology and transportation, people from different cultures, religions, and backgrounds are constantly interacting with one another. This increased interaction has highlighted the need for tolerance as a means of promoting harmony and understanding.

Tolerance is also crucial in addressing issues such as discrimination and prejudice. By being tolerant, we can create a more inclusive society where everyone feels accepted and valued regardless of their differences. It allows us to move beyond our own biases and see others as individuals with unique experiences and stories.

Moreover, tolerance is crucial for the development of critical thinking skills. When we are open to different perspectives and ideas, we are able to challenge our own beliefs and expand our understanding of the world. This leads to personal growth and a deeper appreciation for diversity.

In today’s globalized world, where conflicts and tensions often arise from differences, tolerance has become a necessity. It is the key to building peaceful and inclusive communities where everyone can thrive. As individuals, it is our responsibility to cultivate tolerance and promote it in our families, schools, workplaces, and communities as a whole.

Tolerance may not always be easy to practice, but it is certainly needed now more than ever. It requires empathy, understanding, and a willingness to learn from others. By embracing tolerance as a value, we can create a more compassionate and harmonious world for ourselves and future generations. So let us remember that in the face of intolerance and hatred, tolerance is truly the need of the hour.

Let us strive towards building a society where differences are celebrated rather than feared, and where respect for one another is the norm. Together, we can make a positive impact and create a more tolerant world for all. As the saying goes, “The highest result of education is tolerance.”

Paragraph on Religious Tolerance:

Religious tolerance is the acceptance and respect of different religious beliefs, practices, and customs. It is an essential aspect of a peaceful society as it promotes harmony and understanding between individuals of diverse faiths. In today’s world, where religious conflicts often dominate headlines, it is crucial to remember that religion should not be a source of division, but rather a unifying factor.

Religious tolerance means acknowledging and embracing our differences, rather than using them as a reason for hatred or discrimination. It is an important value that should be nurtured in individuals from a young age to create a more tolerant and inclusive society. So, let’s spread the message of religious tolerance, and celebrate the diversity of beliefs that make this world a beautiful place.

Paragraph on Tolerance in everyday Life:

Religious tolerance is often thought of as a concept that only applies to big, global conflicts. However, the reality is that it impacts our daily lives in many ways. It could be something as simple as making sure we don’t offend someone when discussing religious beliefs or practices, or being mindful of different dietary restrictions during communal meals.

But it goes beyond just being polite. True religious tolerance means being open-minded and accepting of others, regardless of their beliefs. It means creating a safe space for people to express their faith without fear of judgment or discrimination.

In our day-to-day interactions, we may encounter people from different religious backgrounds. And instead of focusing on our differences, we should strive to find common ground and celebrate diversity. This can lead to meaningful conversations and a deeper understanding of each other’s beliefs.

Moreover, religious tolerance also involves actively challenging stereotypes and prejudices that may exist in our society. It means standing up for those who are discriminated against because of their faith and promoting unity and respect for all religions.

So let’s practice religious tolerance not just in major international conflicts but also in our everyday lives. By doing so, we can create a more harmonious and accepting world for ourselves and future generations.

Q: What is a short paragraph about tolerance?

A: Tolerance is the acceptance and respect for differing beliefs, opinions, and cultures. It promotes peaceful coexistence and understanding in a diverse world.

Q: What is the importance of tolerance?

A: Tolerance is crucial as it fosters harmony, reduces conflicts, and encourages open-mindedness. It’s the foundation for a just and inclusive society.

Q: What is a few lines about tolerance?

A: Tolerance is the ability to embrace diversity, even when we don’t agree with it. It’s essential for social cohesion and global unity.

Q: What is the importance of tolerance in students?

A: Tolerance in students helps them develop empathy, critical thinking, and the ability to work with people from various backgrounds, preparing them for a more inclusive and interconnected world.

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Tolerance, Essay By E. M. Forster

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100 Words Essay On Tolerance In English

Google defines the term ‘tolerance’ to be “the ability or willingness to tolerate the existence of opinions or behaviour that one dislikes or disagrees with” and “the capacity to endure continued subjection to something such as a drug or environmental conditions without adverse reaction.”

Simply put, tolerance is the act of forbearing. When life gives us lemons, only the ability to tolerate will get us through and the hope that one day life will become better. To tolerate in life is thus a virtue we must all develop in our life.

Helen Keller, in fact, has said, “The highest result of education is tolerance.” 

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Tolerance Essay

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Tolerance , People , Belief , Respect , Society , Sociology , Religion , Behavior

Words: 1925

Published: 2020/12/28

Introduction If there is one problem that has plagued the human race for a long time, then it is tolerance. The human race is made up of a diverse range of individuals coming from all walks of life. These individuals espouse different characteristics, values, and beliefs. It is these differences that have often acted as an impetus for societal clashes and intolerance. Some cultural groups in the society cannot simply tolerate the values of each other. They disapprove of these cultural values and beliefs and have no qualms letting the other group know it. This then often leads to societal clashes. However, intolerance does not only occur across different cultural and social groups in the society. It can also occur between individuals in the society, some even from the same social group. This mainly occurs when one individual disapproves the other’s life choices, behaviors, attitudes, and values. Normally, intolerance is accompanied by lack of respect where individuals lose the respect they have for each other. This once again sets up a lot of individual clashes in the society. Ultimately, no one desires to see clashes in the society. The question that has therefore been asked by many philosophers is whether humans begins should exhibit tolerance towards people that they disapprove in order to show them respect or whether they should tolerate because they cannot simply bring themselves to respect them. This is indeed a contentious issue that has been explored and touched on by a relatively large number of authors. Some have explored the aspect of tolerance and what it exactly entails. Others have looked at the limits of tolerance and the situations where it is applicable and not applicable (Williams & Waldron, 2008). What emerges from all this literature is that tolerance is actually a subjective term that exhibits a lot of dynamism across different society contexts. What may, for example, be tolerable in one society may not necessarily be tolerable in another society. Tolerance also varies from one individual to the other. There are some levels of disapproval where tolerance is impossible. An individual may loathe the other so much that tolerating them is simply impossible. Alternatively, the behavior of one individual may be viewed by another so negative that once again, tolerance is impossible. The absence of tolerance can be accompanied by two specific scenarios. One, the individual who disapproves of the other’s behaviors may choose to simply walk away and never interact with that individual again (Scanlon, 2003). Simply put, the individual may cut the ties between him and the other individual completely because he simply cannot tolerate the other. In the second scenario, the individual who disapproves of the other may choose to confront them. Once again, confrontation is a subjective term. It can mean verbal confrontation or physical confrontation. Verbal confrontation is where the individual makes it known to the other why they disapprove their behavior attitude and values. Unfortunately, emotions might get high during the verbal confirmation, and this may translate to the individuals physically confronting each other by fighting. This can have disastrous effects for both parties, and they may end up injuring each other or worse still killing each other. However, the consequence for the first type of intolerance which constitutes walking away are less severe (McKinnon, 2005). In fact, some consider it be the noble thing to do when one does not approve of the other, whether it is their behavior, their attitude, their values or even their entire being. The conventional definition of tolerance is a deliberate choice to either put up or leave alone what one disapproves of dislikes when one actually has the power to react or act otherwise. It is usually a matter of degree (Scanlon, 2003). For example, one might actually leave the object or aspect of tolerance alone or one might actually choose to subject this object to ridicule criticism, pressure, social sanctions, physical force and persecution (Horton & Mendus, 1985) The issue of tolerance has in fact been debated for a long time, right from the days of John Locke who is in his famous manuscript “A Letter concerning Toleration” called for religious tolerance among various society groups of the time. Locke wrote his letter when England was cutting down its ties with the Roman Catholic Church and making Protestantism as the official religion. His principal claim in this manuscript was that the government, or the state authority should not attempt to use force in order to make citizens subscribe to a certain religion that the government considers to be the true religion (Locke, 1689). He also claimed that religious organizations and entities are voluntary in nature and, therefore, they have absolutely no right to use any form of coercive power over their member or even those who are not members. Simply put, Locke’s main arguments that force should never be used as a way of instilling beliefs to people who do not subscribe to these beliefs. In addition, people should not be persecuted for subscribing to a certain set of beliefs (Locke, 1689). Locke’s logic and model is applicable to not only the religious context but also across various other societal contexts. His logic can be interpreted as calling for respect and tolerance for the people whose beliefs are different. In fact, tolerance and respect go in hand in hand. Respect means that even if one may disagree with the belief and behaviors of the other, as long as they do not affect the being of one, the one has to respect the other. There are various things in the society that elicit tolerance and non-tolerance. As mentioned earlier, these include practices, ideologies, and beliefs, ethnic, social and religious groups among others. As it has been shown tolerance to some simply translates to putting up with. Respect, on the other hand, refers to feelings of deep admiration for an individual who has achieved something (McKinnon, 2005). This is often elicited by the achievements or the qualities of another individual.

It is, however, crucial to understand that there is indeed a huge difference between tolerance and respect.

Keen analysis reveals that tolerance alone is associated with some kind of ingenuity. People often use the term to show that they are acceptive of other cultures or values but do have any respect for them. This is a very biased approach given that in many cases, people do not actually take the time to learn why some people subscribe to certain behaviors. Members of the social liberal movement would perhaps argue that people are all the same and then being truly liberal translates to accepting that people are unique and different and that there is nothing wrong with this (Kukathas, 2003).

Being truly liberal also means respecting other people for their differences and not simply tolerating them (Kukathas, 2003).

A person can tolerate something but not welcome it. This then has the potential to make certain groups in the society or certain people in the society to feel weak and inferior. In fact, when keenly analyzed, tolerating comes off as quite disrespectful and demeaning. This is especially in regards to human beings. It may appear like it has the best intentions, but in reality, it does not and is in fact quite demeaning. The lifestyles and cultures are something to be tolerated but should instead be respected. As it has been emphasized, to say that one tolerates something brings out some form of bigotry. Tolerating is also not something final. One can tolerate something for some time, and when another time arrives, one may decide that they no longer want to tolerate that thing, and this is when conflict emerges (Heyd, 1996). Respect, on the other hand, is final. Unlike tolerance, one does not have to pretend to like or even welcome something. By respecting, it means that one acknowledges the difference in values views and beliefs and also acknowledges the right of the people to have these views. It is also means accepting that one may not be always right and that it is proper to give or provide room for other views and beliefs that may, in the long run, tend to be more accurate. Therefore, although one may not necessarily welcome the opposing views, respect means that one is mature enough to acknowledge that they exist. This becomes essential in not only comprehending a concept from several perspectives, but it also helps people to understand their own beliefs and views better (Kymlicka, 1995). For example, encountering a differing view and respecting it enables one to go back to his or her own view, gauge it with the differing view and try to assess the correctness of this view. In such a case, the answer is never definite and because of the presence of respect, one is able to leave it at that, unlike saying that one tolerates something only for this tolerance to wear off one day and for the person then to start confronting the other, perhaps even physically and then leading to unwanted results like societal clashes and injuries (McKinnon & Castiglione, 2003). John Stuart Mill is another famous philosopher who has explored the issue of tolerance. His 1869 essay “On Liberty” addresses the issue of liberty, and his logic can also be applied to other differing societal values, beliefs, and opinions. In fact, in this essay, he advocates for tolerance on not only religious differences but other aspects of life as well. Mills argues that the toleration in modern societies is actually required in order to cope with the many forms of irreconcilable social, political and cultural plurality. Mills provides three main arguments or points for toleration. In regard to the harm principle, he contends that the exercise of social or political power can only be legitimate if it is required to prevent the harming of one individual by another and not to enforce as specific idea of good or superiority in a manner that is paternalistic (Mills, 1859). His second point is that toleration towards varying opinions receives justification from the utilitarian concept or belief that both false and true opinions actually lead to social learning processes that are highly productive. The final argument brought forth by Mill is that toleration of experiments of living that are usual is in justifiable romantically because it stresses the values of originality and individuality which are natural urges in all human beings (Mills, 1859). Some may argue for example that tolerating and respecting people and ideas are two different things. For example, an argument may be brought forth that one can respect other people but when it comes to their ideas, tolerance is enough. However, double standards should not be applied. The situation can perhaps be helped by understanding that ideas do not exist on their own. They do not exist out of people’s minds and, in fact, for one to gain knowledge on differing ideas; one often has to hear them from s second person show believes in them. Therefore, it would not be proper to substantiate ideas from people and when it comes to respect, it should be applied generally to only people but to their ideas as well since they are one and the same (Kymlicka, 1995). The current society is characterized by the plurality of ideas, views and opinions on almost everything. The same society is also characterized by a host of social, cultural and political differences as well individuals’ differences between people. These differences often lead to disapproval, and when this occurs, people can either choose to tolerate or respect these differences. This essay has shown that simply tolerating, although helpful in some situations, is not as effective as respecting differing views, behaviors or values. Tolerance may wear off in the future, but respect is final and in addition to preventing conflict and social clashes, it enables persons to understand concepts from different perspectives and also analyze their own views and opinions. Therefore, respect should always take precedence over tolerance.

Scanlon, Timothy, 2003. The Difficulty of Tolerance. Essays in Political Philosophy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 187–201. Kukathas, Chandran. 2003. The Liberal Archipelago: A Theory of Diversity and Freedom, Oxford: Oxford University Press. McKinnon, Catriona. 2005. Toleration: A Critical Introduction, London & New York: Routledge. Heyd, David. 1996. Toleration: An Elusive Virtue. Princeton: Princeton University Press; Horton, John & Mendus., Susan. 1985., Aspects of Toleration: Philosophical Studies. London: Methuen. Susan Mendus., 1999. The Politics of Toleration: Tolerance and Intolerance in Modern Life. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. McKinnon, Catriona & Castiglione, Dario. 2003. The Culture of Toleration in Diverse Societies: Reasonable Toleration. Manchester & New York: Manchester University Press. Williams, Melissa S & Waldron. Jeremy. 2008. Toleration and Its Limits. New York & London: New York University Press. Locke John., 1689. A Letter Concerning Toleration. Mill, John Stuart., 1859. On Liberty. Kymlicka, Will. 1995. Multicultural Citizenship. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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Definition of tolerant

• long-suffering
• stoical
• uncomplaining

Examples of tolerant in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tolerant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

1746, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing tolerant

• fault - tolerant

Dictionary Entries Near tolerant

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“Tolerant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tolerant. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.

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Kids definition of tolerant, medical definition, medical definition of tolerant, more from merriam-webster on tolerant.

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Meaning of tolerant in English

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tolerant adjective ( ACCEPTING )

• open-minded The campaign attracts progressive, open-minded people.
• tolerant They are very tolerant of different religions in that country.
• broad-minded Travel helps you become more broad-minded.
• receptive He was very receptive to the idea.
• anti-liberal
• anti-liberalism
• broad-minded
• broad-mindedness
• inclusively
• open-minded
• open-mindedly
• open-mindedness
• permissive society
• unblinkered

tolerant adjective ( ABLE TO DEAL WITH )

• bear with someone
• come to terms with something idiom
• put up with something/someone
• resign yourself to something
• ride something out
• sweat it out idiom
• tough something out
• wait something out
• weather the storm idiom

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Tolerant | intermediate english, tolerant adjective ( able to bear ), tolerant adjective ( willing to accept ), examples of tolerant, translations of tolerant.

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multitasking

a person's or product's ability to do more than one thing at a time

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• tolerant (ACCEPTING)
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