tolerance essay with outline

103 Tolerance Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Looking for tolerance essay topics? Writing about tolerance is easy with us! Find here top writing prompts and examples, together with topics on tolerance and respect.

🏆 Best Tolerance Essay Examples

📌 interesting tolerance essay topics, 👍 hot topics about tolerance, ❓ tolerance essay questions.

The concept of tolerance is crucial nowadays. Tolerance makes it possible for people of various races, nationalities, ages, and cultural backgrounds to peacefully coexist. In your tolerance essay, you might want to talk about why it is so important in society. Another option is to compare the levels of tolerance in various countries in the world. One more idea is to focus on the ways to promote tolerance and respect in schools, offices, and in everyday life.

• Importance of Religious Tolerance Essay The Hindu pattern is again evidence of the fact that all religions are depictions of the experiences of the people involved and the conceptual systems that they deduced from them.
• Religious Tolerance in Ottoman Empire Religious tolerance in the Ottoman Empire could not be compared to religious tolerance in the Roman Empire because diversity was not allowed in the Roman Empire.
• Tolerance and Respect for Cultural Differences The author concludes the essay in the third section by revisiting the thesis statement and highlighting the various approaches used to develop attitudes that promote respect and tolerance.
• Abrahamic, East Asian and South Asian Religions and Concept of Religious Tolerance It is indeed true that religious tolerance and the problem of religious diversity present a major danger to individuals, societies and the world at large.
• Exploring Glucose Tolerance and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus In the case of a glucose tolerance test for the purpose of diagnosing GDM type, the interpretation of the test results is carried out according to the norms for the overall population.
• Undiscovered Killers: The Ineffectiveness of Zero-Tolerance Policies The ineffectiveness of zero-tolerance policies is the social aspect that enables and empowers serial killers to kill and remain unidentified for a long time.
• The Mongol Empire: Cruelty and Tolerance One of the apparent pieces of evidence of the barbarism and cruelty of the Mongol army can be the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire.
• Possibility of Improving Gluten Tolerance Using Necator Americanus The next phase, which is the introduction of the hookworm larvae, improves the gluten tolerance levels. The disease that the introduction of hookworm is expected to treat is celiac disease.
• Measuring the Salt Tolerance of Plants The variety of crops grown and the need for agricultural measures for soil moisture and irrigation depend on the arable land belonging to a particular category.
• Fault Tolerance of an Information System In a soft fault tolerance focus is on data security incase an eventuality that hinder general functioning of the system is witnessed.
• Risk Tolerance and Business Ethics In this case, basic critical thinking is reflected in considering the former type of risks while it is not applied to evaluating the latter one.
• A Visit to the Museum of Tolerance The location is an ideal place for those interested in learning about the traditional culture and history of ancient people, giving a wide view of what happened in the past and the effect and the […]
• White Women, Black Men: History and Tolerance The reasons for such changes and fluctuations may have varied from social to political and economic; and in her book White Women, Black Men: Illicit Sex in the Nineteenth-Century South Martha Hodes undertakes the task […]
• Tolerance with Other Beliefs and Values People should live according to some rules and should value the moral rules according to which other people live. I am inclined to think that moral rules and values are mostly presented by our religion […]
• Netflix: Solving the Problem of Increasing People’s Stress Tolerance Currently, an obvious fact is the increase in the number of psychosomatic diseases, in the origin and course of which the leading role belongs to the influence of traumatic factors.
• Zero-Tolerance Policies and Student Rights One of the main arguments for the idea that ZTPs violate students’ rights is connected to instances of discrimination. In particular, they may result in students from disadvantaged groups being more likely to partake in […]
• Museum of Tolerance and Cultural Diversity Issues The description of the exhibit devoted to the Holocaust at the Museum of Tolerance is provided hereafter. I have recently visited the exhibit devoted to the Holocaust at the Museum of Tolerance, and I am […]
• Chimamanda Adichie: The Issue of Equality and Tolerance After centuries of discrimination and alienation between the communities of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, after hundreds of years of wars based on religion and nationality, modern society has slowly started coming to senses and […]
• Zero-Tolerance Policing Style The findings obtained from this study may be used in improving the efficiency of zero tolerance policing or in deciding whether to abolish the policing style.
• A Visit to the Museum of Tolerance in LA The museum is a storehouse of the relics of racism to the xenophobia that has led man to commit heinous crimes in the name of faith and belief.
• Ethical Issues: Risk Tolerance It might be possible to state that when it comes to issues related to risk tolerance, the ethical dimension of these issues is similar to other their dimensions in some ways, but different in others.
• European Framework National Statute for Tolerance Promotion Besides, the article with the Statute helps to clarify the main points intolerant relations between people, the development of national relations, and even the respect to migrants and other social minorities.
• Religious Pluralism and Tolerance Therefore, it is possible to state that all religions have the same goal though they may have different tools to achieve it but people should embrace the idea of religious pluralism, as it will enable […]
• Religious Tolerance and Theology Therefore, tolerance can be defined as the aspect of respecting people in their different nature and not demanding any same action from their beliefs From the Jewish perspective, extending their laws to encompass other religions […]
• Tolerance and Equal Attitude to People With this in mind, it is possible to say that it is a kind of segregation which is now officially promoted. That is why, it is clear for me that some actions are needed to […]
• Religious Tolerance in Different Systems of Beliefs The purpose of this paper is to explore the subject of religious tolerance and its usefulness in the academic approach to the religious phenomenon.
• Linguistics: Bilingualism, Multilingualism and Tolerance In my opinion, a person with some understanding of a local language is likely to find some of the social and cultural things in a foreign country awkward or abnormal.
• Show Boat: Encouraging Tolerance In the beginning of the musical play, the fight between the characters and the disagreements that seize by the end illustrates a sense of acceptance as well as tolerance amongst the different groups by all […]
• The Goddess: The Cry for Female Tolerance Feminism echoes throughout the plot of the movie through the life of the main character and through the reactions of the people around her.
• Major Religions: Contribution to Religious Tolerance In spite of the constant existence of religious fanaticism and prejudice experienced in most parts of the word, there has been a notable growth in religious tolerance.
• Tolerance and Truth in America During the founding of the United States of America, the Catholic faith seemed to be the predominant religion in the country.
• Freedom of Speech, Religion and Religious Tolerance As stipulated in Article 19 of the Universal Human Rights Declaration, the pastor has the right to share ideas and information of all kinds regardless of the periphery involved and in this case, he should […]
• Tolerance and Pluralism in a Civil Society This is because the society is built by all kinds of people because everyone has a role to play in the society.
• The Acceptance and Tolerance Towards Gay Rights
• Tolerance, Cooperation, and Equilibrium Restoration in Repeated Games
• Understanding Compassion and Tolerance in Harper Lee’s Novel To Kill Mockingbird
• Three Different Perspectives on Tolerance, Equality and Freedom
• The Impact of Acceptance, Tolerance, and Forgiveness in Frankenstein, a Novel by Mary Shelley
• The Zero Tolerance Policy: Justified or Unreasonable
• Use and Application of the Zero Tolerance Policy in American Schools
• Schools Should Eliminate the Use of Zero-Tolerance Policies
• The Role of Lactose Tolerance in Pre-Colonial Development
• The Rise of Religious Tolerance in Protestant England in the Mid to Late 17th Century
• The Demoralizing Treatment of Students as Criminals Due to the Zero Tolerance Policies in American Schools
• The True Meaning of Tolerance and Its Importance for the Modern Society
• The Tolerance Approach to Sensitivity Analysis in Linear Programming
• Socio-Bioethics of Migration. The Deconstruction of Tolerance and Reinvention of Terror
• Tutorial on Religious Tolerance and the Film The Passion of the Christ
• Postmodernism Multiculturalism Tolerance and Political Correctness
• Tolerance, Empathy and Respect and Diversity Programming
• The Correlation Between Drug Tolerance and the Environment
• The Importance of the Concept of Tolerance in the LGBTQ Society
• Tolerance and Diversity for a Health Care Provider
• Vygotsky’s Theory of Social Learning & Tolerance Introduction Prejudices
• The Benefits of Religious Tolerance in American Society
• Tolerance for Uncertainty and the Growth of Informationally Opaque Industries
• Teaching and Modeling Homosexual Tolerance in the Public School System
• Waiting Tolerance: Ramp Delay vs. Freeway Congestion
• Tolerance and Kindness in the Novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Why Religious Tolerance Increased in the American Colonies
• The Relevance of Tolerance and Persecution ”The Crucible” by Arthur Miller
• White and Ety Uses Stereotypes to Promote Cross-Cultural Tolerance
• The Sign of the Cross, Tolerance and Indifference
• Sexuality and Public Policy Regarding Sexual Tolerance
• The Relationship Between Religious Tolerance and Ethnic Relation Practices Among MultiEthnic Youth in Malaysia
• Using Variable Reduction Techniques and Tolerance Intervals to Summarise a Fitness Testing Battery in Soccer
• The Impact of Tolerance as a Component of Organizational Culture on Individual Stress
• Stereotypes Used in White and Ety Promotes Cross-Cultural Tolerance
• The Effect of Visual Stimuli on Pain Threshold and Tolerance
• Social Problems Are Due to Society’s Tolerance of Immorality
• The Tolerance of Violence in America Review of Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage
• The Problem of Zero Tolerance Policies in the United States
• The Challenge of Tolerance Within a Multicultural Society
• Why Is Tolerance Important in Our Daily Life?
• What Is the Value of Tolerance?
• Why Is Tolerance Important for a Peaceful Society?
• How Can You Show Tolerance?
• What Is the Importance of Tolerance in Islam?
• How Can We Promote Tolerance in Our Society?
• Why Is It Important to Teach Tolerance?
• How Do You Show Tolerance in School?
• What Is an Idea of Religious Tolerance?
• How Can I Improve My Patience and Tolerance?
• What Does the Bible Say About Tolerance?
• How Do You Explain Tolerance to a Child?
• What Is the Benefit of Tolerance in Diversity?
• What Is Education Tolerance?
• How Does Tolerance Develop?
• What Is Cellular Tolerance?
• How Can Tolerance Help Prevent a Conflict?
• Why Tolerance Is Important in the Workplace?
• Is Tolerance Enough for Preventing Conflict in Society?
• How Does Tolerance Shift Your Attitude Towards Others?
• Why Is Tolerance Important in a Relationship?
• What Is the Most Serious Effect of Tolerance?
• What Does Developing a Tolerance Mean?
• Are Tolerance and Respect the Same Thing in the Workplace?
• What Is Tolerance Answer in One Sentence?
• What Is Tolerance and How It Affects Us?
• Does Tolerance Mean Acceptance?
• What Is Chronic Tolerance?
• What Does Love and Tolerance Mean?
• How Many Types of Tolerance Are There?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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109 Tolerance Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Tolerance is an essential quality that is needed in today's diverse and interconnected world. It is the ability to accept and respect the differences in others, whether they are based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic. Tolerance is crucial for promoting peace, harmony, and understanding among individuals and communities.

To help you explore the concept of tolerance further, here are 109 tolerance essay topic ideas and examples that you can use for inspiration:

• The importance of tolerance in a multicultural society
• How can we promote tolerance in schools?
• Tolerance and diversity in the workplace
• The role of tolerance in building peaceful communities
• Tolerance and acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals
• Tolerance towards religious beliefs and practices
• How can we overcome intolerance and discrimination?
• Tolerance and empathy: understanding others' perspectives
• Tolerance and social justice
• The impact of intolerance on mental health
• Tolerance and forgiveness
• Tolerance and political polarization
• The role of education in promoting tolerance
• Tolerance and freedom of speech
• Tolerance towards individuals with disabilities
• Tolerance and social media
• Tolerance and economic inequality
• Tolerance and human rights
• Tolerance and the refugee crisis
• Tolerance and the criminal justice system
• Tolerance and interfaith dialogue
• Tolerance and environmental activism
• Tolerance and public health
• Tolerance and globalization
• Tolerance and gender equality
• Tolerance and indigenous rights
• Tolerance and the arts
• Tolerance and sportsmanship
• Tolerance and cultural appropriation
• Tolerance and allyship
• Tolerance and mental health stigma
• Tolerance and online harassment
• Tolerance and cyberbullying
• Tolerance and political correctness
• Tolerance and ethical consumption
• Tolerance and climate change denial
• Tolerance and animal rights
• Tolerance and technology
• Tolerance and artificial intelligence
• Tolerance and bioethics
• Tolerance and medical ethics
• Tolerance and social media influencers
• Tolerance and cancel culture

These are just a few examples of the many topics that you can explore when writing about tolerance. Whether you choose to focus on a specific aspect of tolerance or take a more general approach, there are countless opportunities to delve into this important concept and its implications for society. By discussing and promoting tolerance, we can work towards creating a more inclusive and understanding world for all.

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An Essay About Tolerance For Grade 9 Students

Tolerance is an important value that we should all strive to cultivate in our lives. It means accepting and respecting people who are different from us, whether it is their race, religion, culture, or beliefs.

Tolerance promotes understanding and encourages people to work together towards a common goal, regardless of their differences.

Table of Contents

Read an Essay on Tolerance for students

Tolerance is especially important in today’s world, where we are more connected than ever before through technology and globalization. We encounter people from different backgrounds and cultures every day, and it is essential that we learn to appreciate and respect these differences.

One of the best ways to practice tolerance is to listen to and learn from others. We should make an effort to understand different perspectives and try to see things from someone else’s point of view. This can help us overcome our own biases and prejudices and promote mutual respect .

Another way to practice tolerance is to be open-minded and accepting of others’ beliefs and practices. We may not always agree with someone else’s beliefs or customs, but we can still respect their right to hold them. We should avoid making assumptions or stereotypes about others based on their race, religion, or culture, and instead seek to understand and appreciate their unique perspectives.

Tolerance also involves treating others with kindness and empathy. We should be respectful and courteous towards others, even if we do not necessarily agree with them. By being considerate and compassionate towards others, we can create a more harmonious and accepting world.

Tolerance is an essential value that promotes understanding, respect, and compassion towards others. It is something that we should all strive to cultivate in our lives, and something that can make a positive difference in the world. By practicing tolerance, we can build stronger relationships and communities, and work together towards a brighter future.

Hello! Welcome to my Blog StudyParagraphs.co. My name is Angelina. I am a college professor. I love reading writing for kids students. This blog is full with valuable knowledge for all class students. Thank you for reading my articles.

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Beyond Intractability

The Hyper-Polarization Challenge to the Conflict Resolution Field: A Joint BI/CRQ Discussion BI and the Conflict Resolution Quarterly invite you to participate in an online exploration of what those with conflict and peacebuilding expertise can do to help defend liberal democracies and encourage them live up to their ideals.

Follow BI and the Hyper-Polarization Discussion on BI's New Substack Newsletter .

Hyper-Polarization, COVID, Racism, and the Constructive Conflict Initiative Read about (and contribute to) the  Constructive Conflict Initiative  and its associated Blog —our effort to assemble what we collectively know about how to move beyond our hyperpolarized politics and start solving society's problems. 

By Sarah Peterson

Originally published in July 2003, Current Implications added by Heidi Burgess in December, 2019

Current Implications

When Sarah wrote this essay in 2003, social media existed, but it hadn't yet become popular or widespread.  Facebook and Twitter hadn't started yet (Facebook started in 2004, Twitter in 2006.)  More .... 

What is Tolerance?

Tolerance is the appreciation of diversity and the ability to live and let others live. It is the ability to exercise a fair and objective attitude towards those whose opinions, practices, religion, nationality, and so on differ from one's own.[1] As William Ury notes, "tolerance is not just agreeing with one another or remaining indifferent in the face of injustice, but rather showing respect for the essential humanity in every person."[2]

Intolerance is the failure to appreciate and respect the practices, opinions and beliefs of another group. For instance, there is a high degree of intolerance between Israeli Jews and Palestinians who are at odds over issues of identity , security , self-determination , statehood, the right of return for refugees, the status of Jerusalem and many other issues. The result is continuing intergroup conflict and violence .

Why Does Tolerance Matter?

At a post-9/11 conference on multiculturalism in the United States, participants asked, "How can we be tolerant of those who are intolerant of us?"[3] For many, tolerating intolerance is neither acceptable nor possible.

Though tolerance may seem an impossible exercise in certain situations -- as illustrated by Hobbes in the inset box on the right -- being tolerant, nonetheless, remains key to easing hostile tensions between groups and to helping communities move past intractable conflict. That is because tolerance is integral to different groups relating to one another in a respectful and understanding way. In cases where communities have been deeply entrenched in violent conflict, being tolerant helps the affected groups endure the pain of the past and resolve their differences. In Rwanda, the Hutus and the Tutsis have tolerated a reconciliation process , which has helped them to work through their anger and resentment towards one another.

The Origins of Intolerance

In situations where conditions are economically depressed and politically charged, groups and individuals may find it hard to tolerate those that are different from them or have caused them harm. In such cases, discrimination, dehumanization, repression, and violence may occur. This can be seen in the context of Kosovo, where Kosovar Alabanians, grappling with poverty and unemployment, needed a scapegoat, and supported an aggressive Serbian attack against neighboring Bosnian Muslim and Croatian neighbors.

The Consequences of Intolerance

Intolerance will drive groups apart, creating a sense of permanent separation between them. For example, though the laws of apartheid in South Africa were abolished nine years ago, there still exists a noticeable level of personal separation between black and white South Africans, as evidenced in studies on the levels of perceived social distance between the two groups.[4] This continued racial division perpetuates the problems of intergroup resentment and hostility.

How is Intolerance Perpetuated?

Between Individuals: In the absence of their own experiences, individuals base their impressions and opinions of one another on assumptions. These assumptions can be influenced by the positive or negative beliefs of those who are either closest or most influential in their lives, including parents or other family members, colleagues, educators, and/or role models. 

In the Media: Individual attitudes are influenced by the images of other groups in the media, and the press. For instance, many Serbian communities believed that the western media portrayed a negative image of the Serbian people during the NATO bombing in Kosovo and Serbia.[5] This de-humanization may have contributed to the West's willingness to bomb Serbia. However, there are studies that suggest media images may not influence individuals in all cases. For example, a study conducted on stereotypes discovered people of specific towns in southeastern Australia did not agree with the negative stereotypes of Muslims presented in the media.[6]

In Education: There exists school curriculum and educational literature that provide biased and/or negative historical accounts of world cultures. Education or schooling based on myths can demonize and dehumanize other cultures rather than promote cultural understanding and a tolerance for diversity and differences.

What Can Be Done to Deal with Intolerance?

To encourage tolerance, parties to a conflict and third parties must remind themselves and others that tolerating tolerance is preferable to tolerating intolerance. Following are some useful strategies that may be used as tools to promote tolerance.

Intergroup Contact: There is evidence that casual intergroup contact does not necessarily reduce intergroup tensions, and may in fact exacerbate existing animosities. However, through intimate intergroup contact, groups will base their opinions of one another on personal experiences, which can reduce prejudices . Intimate intergroup contact should be sustained over a week or longer in order for it to be effective.[7]

In Dialogue: To enhance communication between both sides, dialogue mechanisms such as dialogue groups or problem solving workshops  provide opportunities for both sides to express their needs and interests. In such cases, actors engaged in the workshops or similar forums feel their concerns have been heard and recognized. Restorative justice programs such as victim-offender mediation provide this kind of opportunity as well. For instance, through victim-offender mediation, victims can ask for an apology from the offender and the offender can make restitution and ask for forgiveness.[8]

What Individuals Can Do

Individuals should continually focus on being tolerant of others in their daily lives. This involves consciously challenging the stereotypes and assumptions that they typically encounter in making decisions about others and/or working with others either in a social or a professional environment.

What the Media Can Do

The media should use positive images to promote understanding and cultural sensitivity. The more groups and individuals are exposed to positive media messages about other cultures, the less they are likely to find faults with one another -- particularly those communities who have little access to the outside world and are susceptible to what the media tells them. See the section on stereotypes  to learn more about how the media perpetuate negative images of different groups.

What the Educational System Can Do

Educators are instrumental in promoting tolerance and peaceful coexistence . For instance, schools that create a tolerant environment help young people respect and understand different cultures. In Israel, an Arab and Israeli community called Neve Shalom or Wahat Al-Salam ("Oasis of Peace") created a school designed to support inter-cultural understanding by providing children between the first and sixth grades the opportunity to learn and grow together in a tolerant environment.[9]

What Other Third Parties Can Do

Conflict transformation NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and other actors in the field of peacebuilding can offer mechanisms such as trainings to help parties to a conflict communicate better with one another. For instance, several organizations have launched a series of projects in Macedonia that aim to reduce tensions between the country's Albanian, Romani and Macedonian populations, including activities that promote democracy, ethnic tolerance, and respect for human rights.[10]

International organizations need to find ways to enshrine the principles of tolerance in policy. For instance, the United Nations has already created The Declaration of Moral Principles on Tolerance, adopted and signed in Paris by UNESCO's 185 member states on Nov. 16, 1995, which qualifies tolerance as a moral, political, and legal requirement for individuals, groups, and states.[11]

Governments also should aim to institutionalize policies of tolerance. For example, in South Africa, the Education Ministry has advocated the integration of a public school tolerance curriculum into the classroom; the curriculum promotes a holistic approach to learning . The United States government has recognized one week a year as international education week, encouraging schools, organizations, institutions, and individuals to engage in projects and exchanges to heighten global awareness of cultural differences.

The Diaspora community can also play an important role in promoting and sustaining tolerance. They can provide resources to ease tensions and affect institutional policies in a positive way. For example, Jewish, Irish, and Islamic communities have contributed to the peacebuilding effort within their places of origin from their places of residence in the United States. [12]

When Sarah wrote this essay in 2003, social media existed, but it hadn't yet become popular or widespread.  Facebook and Twitter hadn't started yet (Facebook started in 2004, Twitter in 2006.) 

In addition, while the conflict between the right and the left and the different races certainly existed in the United States, it was not nearly as escalated or polarized as it is now in 2019.  For those reasons (and others), the original version of this essay didn't discuss political or racial tolerance or intolerance in the United States.  Rather than re-writing the original essay, all of which is still valid, I have chosen to update it with these "Current Implications." 

In 2019, the intolerance between the Left and the Right in the United States has gotten extreme. Neither side is willing to accept the legitimacy of the values, beliefs, or actions of the other side, and they are not willing to tolerate those values, beliefs or actions whatsoever. That means, in essence, that they will not tolerate the people who hold those views, and are doing everything they can to disempower, delegitimize, and in some cases, dehumanize the other side.

Further, while intolerance is not new, efforts to spread and strengthen it have been greatly enhanced with the current day traditional media and social media environments: the proliferation of cable channels that allow narrowcasting to particular audiences, and Facebook and Twitter (among many others) that serve people only information that corresponds to (or even strengthens) their already biased views. The availability of such information channels both helps spread intolerance; it also makes the effects of that intolerance more harmful.

Intolerance and its correlaries (disempowerment, delegitimization, and dehumanization) are perhaps clearest on the right, as the right currently holds the U.S. presidency and controls the statehouses in many states.  This gives them more power to assert their views and disempower, delegitimize and dehumanize the other.  (Consider the growing restrictions on minority voting rights, the delegitimization of transgendered people and supporters, and the dehumanizing treatment of would-be immigrants at the southern border.) 

But the left is doing the same thing when it can.  By accusing the right of being "haters," the left delegitimizes the right's values and beliefs, many of which are not borne of animus, but rather a combination of bad information being spewed by fake news in social and regular media, and natural neurobiological tendencies which cause half of the population to be biologically more fearful, more reluctant to change, and more accepting of (and needing) a strong leader. 

Put together, such attitudes feed upon one another, causing an apparently never-ending escalation and polarization spiral of intolerance.  Efforts to build understanding and tolerance, just as described in the original article, are still much needed today both in the United States and across the world. 

The good news is that many such efforts exist.  The Bridge Alliance , for instance, is an organization of almost 100 member organizations which are working to bridge the right-left divide in the U.S.  While the Bridge Alliance doesn't use the term "tolerance" or "coexistence" in its framing " Four Principles ," they do call for U.S. leaders and the population to "work together" to meet our challenges.  "Working together" requires not only "tolerance for " and "coexistence with" the other side; it also requires respect for other people's views. That is something that many of the member organizations are trying to establish with red-blue dialogues, public fora, and other bridge-building activities.  We need much, much more of that now in 2019 if we are to be able to strengthen tolerance against the current intolerance onslaught.

One other thing we'd like to mention that was touched upon in the original article, but not explored much, is what can and should be done when the views or actions taken by the other side are so abhorent that they cannot and should not be tolerated? A subset of that question is one Sarah did pose above '"How can we be tolerant of those who are intolerant of us?"[3] For many, tolerating intolerance is neither acceptable nor possible." Sarah answers that by arguing that tolerance is beneficial--by implication, even in those situations. 

What she doesn't explicitly consider, however, is the context of the intolerance.  If one is considering the beliefs or behavior of another that doesn't affect anyone else--a personal decision to live in a particular way (such as following a particular religion for example), we would agree that tolerance is almost always beneficial, as it is more likely to lead to interpersonal trust and further understanding. 

However, if one is considering beliefs or actions of another that does affect other people--particularly actions that affect large numbers of people, then that is a different situation.  We do not tolerate policies that allow the widespread dissemination of fake news and allow foreign governments to manipulate our minds such that they can manipulate our elections.  That, in our minds is intolerable.  So too are actions that destroy the rule of law in this country; actions that threaten our democratic system.

But that doesn't mean that we should respond to intolerance in kind.  Rather, we would argue, one should respond to intolerance with respectful dissent--explaining why the intolerance is unfairly stereotyping an entire group of people; explaining why such stereotyping is both untrue and harmful; why a particular action is unacceptable because it threatens the integrity of our democratic system, explaining alternative ways of getting one's needs met. 

This can be done without attacking the people who are guilty of intolerance with direct personal attacks--calling them "haters," or shaming them for having voted a particular way.  That just hardens the other sides' intolerance. 

Still, reason-based arguments probably won't be accepted right away.  Much neuroscience research explains that emotions trump facts and that people won't change their minds when presented with alternative facts--they will just reject those facts.  But if people are presented with facts in the form of respectful discussion instead of personal attacks, that is both a factual and an emotional approach that can help de-escalate tensions and eventually allow for the development of tolerance.  Personal attacks on the intolerant will not do that.  So when Sarah asked whether one should tolerate intolerance, I would say "no, one should not." But that doesn't mean that you have to treat the intolerant person disrespectfully or "intolerantly."  Rather, model good, respectful behavior.  Model the behavior you would like them to adopt.  And use that to try to fight the intolerance, rather than simply "tolerating it." 

-- Heidi and Guy Burgess. December, 2019.

Back to Essay Top

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[1] The American Heritage Dictionary (New York: Dell Publishing, 1994).

[2] William Ury, Getting To Peace (New York: The Penguin Group, 1999), 127.

[3] As identified by Serge Schmemann, a New York Times columnist noted in his piece of Dec. 29, 2002, in The New York Times entitled "The Burden of Tolerance in a World of Division" that tolerance is a burden rather than a blessing in today's society.

[4] Jannie Malan, "From Exclusive Aversion to Inclusive Coexistence," Short Paper, African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), Conference on Coexistence Community Consultations, Durban, South Africa, January 2003, 6.

[5] As noted by Susan Sachs, a New York Times columnist in her piece of Dec. 16, 2001, in The New York Times entitled "In One Muslim Land, an Effort to Enforce Lessons of Tolerance."

[6] Amber Hague, "Attitudes of high school students and teachers towards Muslims and Islam in a southeaster Australian community," Intercultural Education 2 (2001): 185-196.

[7] Yehuda Amir, "Contact Hypothesis in Ethnic Relations," in Weiner, Eugene, eds. The Handbook of Interethnic Coexistence (New York: The Continuing Publishing Company, 2000), 162-181.

[8] The Ukrainian Centre for Common Ground has launched a successful restorative justice project. Information available on-line at www.sfcg.org .

[9] Neve Shalom homepage [on-line]; available at www.nswas.com ; Internet.

[10] Lessons in Tolerance after Conflict.  http://www.beyondintractability.org/library/external-resource?biblio=9997

[11] "A Global Quest for Tolerance" [article on-line] (UNESCO, 1995, accessed 11 February 2003); available at http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/fight-against-discrimination/promoting-tolerance/ ; Internet.

[12] Louis Kriesberg, "Coexistence and the Reconciliation of Communal Conflicts." In Weiner, Eugene, eds. The Handbook of Interethnic Coexistence (New York: The Continuing Publishing Company, 2000), 182-198.

Use the following to cite this article: Peterson, Sarah. "Tolerance." Beyond Intractability . Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Information Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: July 2003 < http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/tolerance >.

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The Quest to Cultivate Tolerance Through Education

• Published: 28 February 2023
• Volume 42 , pages 231–246, ( 2023 )

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• Dan Mamlok   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3910-7169 1  

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This paper examines the notion of tolerance in education. In general, tolerance is perceived as a means to resist hostility, raise awareness of cultural differences, mitigate violence, and maintain liberal and democratic values. In education, there are various initiatives, such as the International Day for Tolerance (UNESCO in Declaration of principles on tolerance, 1995), that aim to build resilience against different forms of hate and cultivate openness and acceptance of the other. Yet the idea of tolerance includes different understandings and interpretations. This paper argues that cultivating an embodied sense of tolerance among students, in particular in divisive communities, requires us to move beyond deliberative interpretations of tolerance and to advance a pragmatic understanding of tolerance through an agonistic lens. This paper starts with a review of several dominant interpretations of tolerance. The heart of the paper focuses on interpreting Dewey’s pragmatism as a theoretical basis for advancing tolerance. The final part of the paper explores how pragmatism through an agonistic lens can support a more flexible and humane approach to dealing with political conflicts.

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Mamlok, D. The Quest to Cultivate Tolerance Through Education. Stud Philos Educ 42 , 231–246 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-023-09874-8

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Accepted : 15 February 2023

Published : 28 February 2023

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-023-09874-8

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