“Free speech is not just a principle for protecting the views we like; it’s a practice that forces us to engage with difference. Our data suggest that people who embrace that practice are, on the whole, more willing to extend tolerance to a wide range of groups.”
A new study published this week in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science challenges a common assumption: that people who fiercely defend free speech are secretly less tolerant of out-groups. Instead, the research finds that individuals who rank free speech as a top priority actually show higher levels of racial and ethnic tolerance than those who de-emphasize it. The difference is most pronounced among the highly educated, but the pattern holds across demographics.
The Study: Free Speech as a Tolerance Predictor
The research team, led by Dr. Sarah Lin at the University of Michigan, analyzed data from the 2022 American National Election Studies (ANES) survey, which included over 4,000 respondents from across the United States. Participants were asked to rate how important free speech is to them personally, and then completed a battery of questions measuring their comfort with a range of social and ethnic groups—from African Americans and Hispanic Americans to Muslims, atheists, and transgender individuals.
Results showed a clear correlation: respondents in the top quartile of free speech prioritization were, on average, 22% more likely to express positive views toward minority groups compared to those in the bottom quartile. The effect held even after controlling for political ideology, age, income, and region.
“This isn’t about partisanship. Whether you’re a conservative or a liberal, if you truly value free speech, you tend to be more open to people who are different from you—except for one notable exception.”
Education Amplifies the Effect
Education emerged as a powerful amplifier. Among respondents with a postgraduate degree, the gap in tolerance between high and low free speech prioritizers widened to 31%. Those with only a high school education showed a more modest 15% difference. However, even among the least educated group, the trend was consistent: free speech advocates were more tolerant, not less.
“Education doesn’t just teach facts; it cultivates the cognitive tools to handle contradictions,” explains Dr. Marcus Tanaka, a sociologist at Stanford University who was not involved in the study. “People with more advanced schooling may be better equipped to separate a group’s ideas from their humanity. Free speech values then reinforce that separation.”
The Exception: Right-Wing Extremists
But the study reveals a striking asymmetry. When the researchers asked about tolerance for “right-wing extremists” (a category defined in the survey as people who endorse violence or bigotry in the name of right-wing causes), the pattern reversed. Free speech advocates were significantly less tolerant of this group than those who de-emphasized free speech.
“This is the most interesting finding,” says Dr. Lin. “People who value free speech seem to draw a line at groups they perceive as actively threatening to the very principle of free expression. They see right-wing extremists not as simply holding unpopular views, but as seeking to dismantle the system that permits disagreement.”
The data bear this out: in the highest free speech group, only 27% expressed any tolerance for right-wing extremists, compared to 44% among low free speech prioritizers. That’s a 17-percentage-point gap—the largest of any group tested.
What This Means for Democracy
The findings have implications for how we understand the psychology of tolerance. “Free speech is often treated as an abstract principle, but this study shows it has real behavioral consequences,” notes Dr. Tanaka. “When people internalize the idea that all opinions deserve a hearing, they become more willing to engage with difference—but they also become more vigilant against those who would exploit that openness.”
The authors caution that the study is correlational and does not prove causation. It’s possible that naturally tolerant people are drawn to free speech values, rather than the values themselves boosting tolerance. Still, the consistency of the results across multiple groups and the clear exception of right-wing extremists suggests a nuanced, principled stance rather than a simple personality trait.
Forward-Looking Implications
As political discourse becomes increasingly polarized, the study offers a counterintuitive lesson: championing free speech might actually help build a more inclusive society. The next step, Dr. Lin says, is to conduct experimental research that tests whether encouraging free speech values can causally increase tolerance toward specific groups. Meanwhile, educators and policymakers may want to consider re-emphasizing free speech as a civic practice—not merely a legal protection—especially in an era where campus speech codes and social media bans are hotly debated.
“Free speech isn’t an excuse for hate,” Dr. Lin concludes. “But it may be an antidote to the broader tribalism that makes us afraid of anyone who looks or thinks differently. That’s a message worth amplifying.”
