Untangling the Roots of Tolerance

Abstract

Past research suggests that tolerance flows from personal characteristics, diversified networks, and participation in voluntary associations. Earlier studies have never included all of these, so researchers have not explored alternative theoretical accounts of how possible causes of tolerance connect to each other and to tolerance. For example, do association members have more tolerance because association activities meet the conditions of the contact hypothesis,because members are well educated, or because association activity widens one's networks? Furthermore, both associations and social networks vary in the extent to which they provide the experiences theoretically linked to tolerance, so types of associations and types of networks should also have different effects on tolerance. Exploring these and other variations provides an enriched test of theoretical conjectures. Findings from analyses of the 2000 Canadian federal election study show that tolerance is complex, stemming from a combination of social networks, voluntary association activities, and individual attributes.