Interethnic tolerance, education, and political orientation: Evidence from Denmark

Abstract

Focusing on the relationship between education and tolerance toward ethnic out-groups in the Danish public, this analysis presents evidence in support of the argument that an important mechanism behind the positive impact of education on tolerance is cognitive constraint: Academic education promotes the ability to connect ideas, and minds equipped with this ability will tend to generalize the norms of the prevailing democratic culture to include ethnic relations. This tendency is particularly apparent when political orientations of the liberal left are added to common democratic norms. The constrained mind that holds left-leaning political beliefs is compelled to express ethnic tolerance. On the other hand, constrained minds permit themselves to be intolerant only when subscribing to right-wing political ideas explicitly at variance with liberal democratic ideals. Interestingly, cognitive constraint is high also in the minority among people lacking in academic education that scores high on tolerance. Compared to their less tolerant peers, the members of this minority are much more likely to be involved in political organizations, for the most part at the ideological left. This indicates that in Denmark such organizations serve a function that in terms of fostering ability to connect ideas is equivalent to the function of academic institutions.