Religious tolerance level of students of Russia's pedagogical universities

The purpose of the study is to analyze religious tolerance level of students of pedagogical universities. The empirical base is the materials of a mass Internet survey, in which 4284 people took part: students of 14 pedagogical universities of Russia. The choice of students of pedagogical universities as an object of research is caused by the specifics of their worldview, strengthening of the role of religion in the system of Russian higher education in the previous decade, as well as the most essential importance of religious tolerance as an integral professional quality of a teacher. The survey results have showed that for the majority of respondents, religious affiliation is not the most significant form of identity. Moreover, many students rather cautiously assessed the role of religion in public life. The analysis of respondents' attitude to other religions in general indicates a high tolerance level: a significant proportion of respondents are characterized by an integrative type of interreligious interaction. The overwhelming majority does not pay attention to religion when communicating with a person; they have a positive attitude to interfaith marriages considering them a personal matter of the couple. A significant part of the respondents have never or almost never felt dislike for representatives of other religious movements. The students' attitude toward specific religions, for example Islam, is apparently determined by stereotypical images, formed by the mass media.