Multidimensional attitudes: Homonationalist and selective tolerance toward homosexuality and Muslim migration across 21 Countries

Abstract

Attitudinal studies illustrate high levels of support toward homosexuality across European countries. Although these patterns suggest that European societies are becoming more progressive and tolerant, they do not extend to Muslim migration. As Western conceptions of liberalism are increasingly defined in terms of tolerance of sexual minorities as a marker of societal progress, persistent anti-Muslim sentiment presents a liberalism paradox. Existing research often explores these two social topics independently, with limited attention to their intersection. Moving beyond this unidimensional lens, we draw on the frameworks of homonationalism and illiberal liberalism to provide insights into how seemingly incompatible perspectives are mutually constitutive and operate in the service of individuals’ self-interest. We use latent class analysis to examine attitudinal configurations related to homosexuality and Muslim exclusion from the 7th wave (2014) of the European Social Survey (ESS). Our analysis identifies three dominant attitudinal clusters. We find that most respondents held multidimensional views—supporting homosexuality while simultaneously rejecting Muslim migration—consistent with selective tolerance and homonationalist perspectives. The remaining two clusters held unified viewpoints, either rejecting both homosexuality and Muslim migration or favoring both. Predicting these attitudinal configurations with socio-demographic characteristics and attitudes towards immigration, we find that those with selective tolerance-homonationalist perspectives occupy a precarious middle-class position characterized by low levels of educational attainment and lower-status white-collar occupations. We find evidence that individuals in this tenuous social class position express both economic and cultural threat by reappropriating tolerant views toward homosexuality for the purpose of justifying Muslim exclusion.