Tolerance is probably one of the ugliest words in the English Language.

It is an ambiguous term used to mask acceptance of what you cannot avoid.

Fundamentally, tolerance is a sign of acceptance by a superior entity as a last resort - i.e. If you tolerate something, you do not like it very much but you live with it.

This is a why a new poll that reflects what Canadians really think of Christians, Jews, Sikhs and Muslims, tells a very disturbing story.

Conducted for Macleans Magazine, the new poll finds that while we like to think of our nation as a model of multi-ethnic and multicultural harmony, many Canadians harbour shocking biases when it comes to Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism and the Jewish faith.

Here are some of the findings from the 1,002 Canadians interviewed:

* Almost half of Canadians believe that Islam promotes violence.

* A quarter of them viewed Sikhism as promoting violence as compared to 10 per cent for Christianity.

* About 70 per cent said they hold a positive view of Christianity, 41 per cent said they viewed Hinduism positively.

* Showing how deep anti-Semitism runs in Canada, 44 per cent of respondents said they would not want their children to marry a person of Jewish faith.

* Even fewer said they would be comfortable with their children marrying a Sikh or a Muslim.

* Some 62 per cent of Canadians said they opposed changes to laws to accommodate new ethnic immigrant groups and minorities; in the French-dominant province of Quebec, this figure rose to 74 per cent.

The authors of the study concluded that minority religions in Canada aren’t getting a fair shake.

"When it comes to respecting the mainstream beliefs of minority faiths, Canada is quite obviously still a much-flawed work in progress," they said.

This poll is a reality check for Canadians, both new immigrants and those who have been born and raised here.

It shows that our multicultural pride is shallow because in reality our lives are dictated by stereotypes.

Yes there will be many who say that a tolerant society is much better than an intolerant one.

That only means we live among bigots who are indifferent.

Canada has made big strides in its multicultural journey.

The voyage, however, will only be over when acceptance and respect replace tolerance in our everyday lives.