The Experience of the Empirical Research on Social Intolerance

The article is devoted to the problem of the empirical study of the phenomenon of social intolerance. The analysis of the results of sociological studies conducted in the USA and Western Europe in the second half of the XX – early XXI centuries is given. The relevant dimensions of tolerance are the subject of the ongoing debate. Scientists do not agree on the question of whether measuring tolerance in different ways is important for identifying the origin of tolerance. Comparing the two methods of measuring tolerance leads to the conclusion that both methods accurately measure intolerance and do not differ significantly in their conclusions regarding the foundations of intolerance. Both methods of measuring tolerance which have now become classical, however, fail in identifying intolerance for certain actions, but not for groups. The research also shows that people distinguish between different actions and between different groups they are willing to endure, also depending on their own social identity. Therefore, tolerance cannot be conceptualized as a comprehensive phenomenon and should be seen as a multi factorial and context-sensitive one. Despite the fact that intolerance and tolerance are often considered as opposite poles, Western researchers point to the asymmetry of tolerance and intolerance.