Relationship between Images of Religious Believers and Tolerant Attitudes toward Them

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between images of religious believers and tolerant attitudes toward them. A questionnaire was administered to 220 respondents via a web survey. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that images of religious believers consisted of three factors: “mentally vulnerable,” “pious,” and “virtuous.” Furthermore, hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that, regardless of whether the respondents were themselves religious or not, virtuous images were associated with tolerant attitude toward them. In contrast, the relationship between mentally vulnerable and pious images and a tolerant attitude was different, depending on respondents’ religiousness.