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There is widespread concern that elections polarize societies along group lines. Meanwhile, enmity between religious communities is rising globally—a phenomenon often attributed to the dynamics of electoral competition. I examine one implication of this broader hypothesis by testing for the presence of electoral cycles in religious intolerance. Pooling responses from 1,086 country-level “values and attitudes” surveys, I evaluate whether people interviewed shortly before or after national elections are more likely to express intolerant attitudes toward those belonging to different religions or sects than people interviewed outside of election seasons. I find no statistical evidence that this is the case, either overall or among theoretically relevant subpopulations. Individuals interviewed close to elections also do not voice greater distrust in other people generally. Mass elections are key mechanisms for collective decision-making. But they are also blamed for creating intergroup enmity, particularly while they are underway; politicians use polarizing campaign strategies, and losing sides feel resentful and marginalized after results are announced. I investigate the impact of election proximity–that is, closeness to elections in time–on social cleavages related to religion, a salient form of group identity worldwide. Integrating data from ∼1.2 million respondents across 25 cross-country survey series, I find no evidence that people interviewed shortly before or after national elections are more likely to express negative attitudes toward religious outgroups than those interviewed at other times. Subgroup analysis reveals little heterogeneity, including by levels of political competition. Generalized social trust, too, is unaffected by election calendars. Elections may not pose as great a risk to social cohesion as is commonly feared.
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