Understanding religious tolerance: socioeconomic influences across diverse nations

Abstract

This study examines individuals' religious tolerance (RT) using fuzzy hybrid TOPSIS and quantile regression applied to the WZB dataset. First, RT is measured using a thermometer scale, which is transformed into a semantic scale and synthesised into RT indicators for comparison. A quantile regression model is then used to assess the impact of socioeconomic factors on RT. The analysis covers eight nations - Germany, Cyprus, the USA, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Turkey and Kenya - based on four items assessing opinions about Jews, Christians, Muslims and atheists. The results show that Germans have the highest RT, while Lebanese have the lowest. Our results show that socioeconomic factors play an important role in shaping RT. Interesting insights are also obtained regarding the existing difference observed across countries.