In Europe and here in the Americas, only a minority of people believe that homosexuality is never justified.
The percentage increases in places like Russia, India and China. In
Africa, the Middle East and parts of Southeast Asia, attitudes become
even more conservative. [...]
Within countries, a similar set of demographic characteristics
tend to influence how people feel about homosexuality. For example,
women tend to be more liberal than men. Older people tend to be more
conservative than younger ones. Muslims are more likely to disapprove of
homosexuality than Catholics, Jews and mainline Protestants.[...]
How does the amount of money a country has shape attitudes? In very poor
countries, people are likely to be more concerned about basic survival.
Parents may worry about how to obtain clean water and food for their
children. Residents may feel that if they stick together and work
closely with friends, family and community members, they will lead a
more predictable and stable life. In this way, social scientists have
found that a group mentality may develop, encouraging people to think in
similar ways and discouraging individual differences. [...]
Eighty percent of the countries I examined are becoming more liberal.
However, we can’t assume that these changes will always be linear or
simple. While we’ve seen a general trend toward more liberal views
regarding homosexuality, there are likely to be hiccups along the way
that affect how these different socioeconomic and cultural influences
take shape nationally and across the world.
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