The tolerance of the despised

Atheists, the non-religious, and the value of pluralism

Bibliographic Data

ID6299643
AuthorsCharles Devellennes (0000-0001-5895-1077, University of Kent, corresponding author), Paul Matthew Lovele, Paul Matthew Loveless (University of Bologna)
Year2022
Volume43
Issue4
Pages580-594
Publication date2022-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Political Science Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0192-5121 • E-ISSN: 1460-373X
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/01925121211034148
OpenAlexW4214538935
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited40

Central to the debate of what constitutes tolerance has been what is tolerable—and who is tolerant. While the existing literature has engaged with the role of religion in tolerance, there is almost no empirical work on individuals without religion. Not surprisingly, theory relevant to this question is largely absent in the current literature. Therefore, using extensive work in political theory, we derive the notion that the non-religious and atheists will show greater tolerance given a stronger adherence to the value of pluralism. We merge this theory with the modern empirical literature and use four waves of the World Values Survey (waves 3, 4, 5, and 6) to provide a substantive test using a novel measure of tolerance as a crucial individual value. We find that the value of pluralism does distinguish tolerance levels among the self-identified non-religious, although less so for atheists

Economics · Epistemology · Merge (version control · Pluralism (philosophy · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Religious pluralism · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Value pluralism · World Values Survey · Cultural Differences and Values · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Social Psychology

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