Czech Republic is the World’s Most Tolerant Country

Controversial headline? Maybe. But according to a recent study, Czechs espouse the most tolerant attitudes towards some of the world’s most morally controversial topics. 

The study asked participants in each country their views on eight morally controversial subjects: extramarital affairs, gambling, homosexuality, abortion, premarital sex, alcohol use, divorce, and contraception use. 

Respondents were asked whether they found each subject morally acceptable, morally unacceptable, or not a moral issue. 

Among the countries surveyed, more Czechs answered “morally acceptable” to half of the subjects than any other country. 

56% of Czechs found homosexuality morally acceptable, slightly higher than Spain (55%) and Germany (51%). Unsurprisingly, respondents in many Middle Eastern and African countries reported the opposite; 0% of respondents in Tunisia were OK with homosexuality. 

Extramarital affairs aren’t exactly popular anywhere, but 17% of Czech respondents found them morally acceptable, followed by India (14%) and Chile (13%).

Premarital sex? 67% of Czechs found it morally acceptable, followed by Venezuela (61%) and Greece (59%). 0% of respondents in Pakistan said the same. 

More Czechs found abortion to be morally acceptable than those in other countries, too, at 49%. Japan (44%), Germany (43%), France (38%) and Spain (35%) were the only other countries to rate above 30%. In the US, only 17% of respondents found abortion to be morally acceptable.

Somewhat surprisingly, the country didn’t rate first in alcohol use – a whopping 66% of respondents in Japan found alcohol use morally acceptable. The Czech Republic came in second at 46%, which still seems pretty low. 

The country ranked highly in the remaining categories, too – 60% of Czechs found divorce morally acceptable (third behind Chile and Brazil), and 74% of Czechs found contraception use acceptable (fourth behind Venezuela, Brazil, and Chile). 

Only in gambling did the country rate in the middle of the pack – 11% of Czechs found gambling to be morally acceptable, compared to 38% in Japan, 31% in France, and 25% in Germany and the US. 

What do the numbers mean in aggregate?

I think I can say that the Czech Republic is the world’s most tolerant country. At least, going by these morally divisive topics.