The Extensiveness of Group Membership and Social Capital: The Impact on Political Tolerance Attitudes

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between membership in voluntary associations and political tolerance attitudes. Though the extensive literature on social capital posits a relationship between group involvement and political tolerance, empirical scrutiny of this proposition has yet to emerge. Specifically, we hypothesize that group membership-its extensiveness across a variety of different associational sectors, and the type of group affiliation-should be associated with variation in political tolerance. The 1972-1994 cumulative files for the General Social Surveys and the 1990 Citizen Participation Survey provide the data to test our hypotheses. The primary findings indicate that there is a strong positive relationship between the extensiveness of group membership and political tolerance. Moreover, this association grows stronger with each additional membership. Finally, after controlling for the extensiveness of group memberships, we find that membership in several specific types of groups affects political tolerance. Overall, results strongly support the social capital proposition linking group membership to political tolerance.