Supporting the Other: The Interplay of Demographic Characteristics and Their Impact on Political Tolerance

Publication Date

Spring 2025

Presentation Length

15 minutes

College

College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

Department

Political Science, Department of

Student Level

Undergraduate

SPARK Category

Research

Faculty Advisor

Dr. Nathan Griffith

Presentation Type

Talk/Oral

Summary

How do demographic characteristics produce political tolerance? Research indicates that as political intolerance continues to increase, support for individual rights is at risk. Research also indicates that factors such as geographic location, age, race, religion, education level, and wealth play a major role in Americans’ willingness to support those dissimilar to them. To test the proposition that different combinations or synergies of demographic characteristics have a greater effect on the production of political tolerance than the sum of their individual parts, I plan to use existing data from the American National Election Survey database to gauge how these factors affect citizens’ political tolerance and their willingness to extend individual rights to groups they ordinarily oppose. Then, I will conduct a cross-sectional regression analysis to determine what traits have the most significant impact on citizens’ degree of political tolerance.

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