Pat Dollard

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Although Americans are increasingly tolerant of the open expression of a variety of views, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 have made most Americans reluctant to extend those freedoms to Muslim extremists, research released Aug. 25 by NORC at the University of Chicago shows.

The finding, reported in NORC’s General Social Survey, illustrates a lingering impact of the horrific events from ten years ago, as well as the consequences on American public opinion of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Tom W. Smith, director of the survey.

“These figures are a result of people responding to what they perceive to be a serious threat,” Smith said. The survey found in 2008 that when asked if “A Muslim clergyman who preaches hatred of the United States” should be able to speak publicly, 41 percent of Americans said yes. The percentage remained unchanged in the 2010 survey. When asked if a Muslim extremist should be able to teach, 29 percent of Americans said yes in 2008 and 32 percent said yes in 2010. The survey found that 49 percent of Americans in 2008 would allow a book by a Muslim extremist to be in their local library, while 48 percent approved in 2010.

Yet tolerance has increased for the expression of other non-majority viewpoints. For example, the GSS found that a majority of Americans are no longer opposed to civil liberties for Communists. In 1972, the first year the survey was conducted, 53 percent of Americans felt that Communists should be allowed to speak, compared to 64 percent in 2010. In 2010, 61 percent (versus 33 percent in 1972) said that a Communist should be allowed to teach, and 69 percent (versus 53 percent in 1972) said that a book by a Communist was appropriate for a library collection.