International Journal on Lifelong Education and Leadership (2018), 4(2)

Figure 1.
Respondents’ characteristics: gender and age (n=825)
 
1. The Dimension of tolerance: Theoretical Review 
Tolerance, as respect for diversity in society, promotes peaceful coexistence between different ethnic 
groups, ensuring their self-realization. The researchers of tolerance theory emphasize that an individual is 
tolerant if he/she has a certain value system that is formed by various factors (family, socialization, socio-
economic situation, and government policies) (Cotneo, Jeane, 2009). Tolerance is the ability to co-operate, 
to accept opposite values. It reflects to human experience, culture, temperament. People can vary greatly 
in their tolerance, taking into account the individual's upbringing in the family, his experience, the existing 
cultural environment and cultural traditions. In addition, the borderline between what is tolerant and 
what is tolerable in Europe is becoming increasingly fragile, marked on this background by the so-called 
"new liberal intolerance" that can lead to "national intolerance" (Dobbernack, Modood, Triandafyllidou, 
2013).
It should be noted the idea of researcher Raphael Cohen-Almagor: “Nowadays tolerance is one of the 
underpinning foundations of liberal democracy, and the practice of tolerance is perceived to be in the core 
of moral life. Tolerance has been described as a claim of our conscience, part of our conception of justice, a 
virtue acknowledged of being the distinction of the best people and the best societies. Tolerance has been 
perceived as a good in itself, not as a mere pragmatic device or prudential expedient. It is assumed that 
tolerance had to prevail to make living together possible. As no society is homogeneous, having diverse 
national religious and/or cultural conceptions of the good, living together requires tolerance toward 
plurality of ideas and ways of life. Tolerance is essential for finding a modus vivendi and common 
denominator to establish a society with a shared system of beliefs, a community of citizens who respect 
pluralism, diversity, and difference.” (Cohen-Almagor, 2016). 

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