RELIGIOUS SUBCULTURES AND POLITICAL TOLERANCE - DO DENOMINATIONS STILL MATTER

This study examines the variation of religious groups in levels of pol itical tolerance and addresses the extent to which these various group s exhibit particular subcultural traits based on data from the 1985, 1 987, and 1988 General Social Surveys. The study considers current deba tes over the categorization of religious denominations and presents re sults using three popular classificatory strategies. Analyses of group differences and levels of homo/heterogeneity within denominations sup port the use of ''religious families'' as a classificatory strategy to examine attitudes toward civil liberties. Several promising direction s for further research on contemporary denominational variations are d iscussed.