Study finds less tolerance for racism

CHICAGO, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. residents are more willing to allow people with unorthodox views to speak publicly, teach and publish than they were 40 years ago, a survey finds.

That includes atheists, Communists and people who advocate military dictatorship, researchers at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago reported Thursday. The United States is also more accepting of open homosexuals, the survey said.

There are two big exceptions. Only a minority is willing to let Muslim extremists express their views openly and tolerance for racist expression has remained about the same since 1977.

Only 32 percent said Muslim extremists should be able to teach, 41 percent said they should be able to speak publicly and 49 percent said their books should be in public libraries. Islam was not an issue in the United States in the 1970s.

The most recent survey found 58 percent of respondents said people with anti-black views should be able to speak publicly, down from 61.5 percent in 1977, 48 percent said they should be able to teach, up from 41 percent, and 65 percent said libraries should be able to acquire their books, up from 60 percent.