Introduction
Since the 1980s when the term LGB (lesbian, gay and bisexual) gained popularity, its community has continued to expand in number and supporters. Those whose sexual orientation is not “normal”, have been forced to fight for equal rights with heterosexuals when it comes to romantic relationships. Some of these areas pursued include social security, workplace benefits, and inheritance (Village and Francis, 2008). While certain countries have participated in the legalization of same-sex marriage and unions, other nations have yet to join in this practice, marriage remaining between man and woman only. Even when rights are given and laws are put in place against discrimination, there still tends to be an underlying distaste and homonegativity …show more content…
Each of these elements can provide insight in the lack of support for homosexuals as it is not something one is born with but rather learned. Two studies, Lingiardi et. al. (2016) & Village and Francis (2008) examine a number of these different factors that aid in predicting homonegativity, including two that provide strong evidence for homonegativity, religion and personality. Both religion and personality have rather broad definitions and luckily the two studies view them in similar ways. Personality is measured in each study from personality questionnaires, though the tests chosen to do so differ, while religiosity is measured based off of church attendance and self-reported belief in God. Each study is conducted in a different country, one examining Italy while the other looks at England. Having two different countries allows one to examine the factors from different backgrounds. Religion is a prime example as the nation’s differ in faith, Italy being culturally Catholic and England as Anglican. These studies predict that of these factors, religion will be a strong indicator of negative attitudes towards homosexuality, the higher the religiosity the higher the …show more content…
This does not suggest that if one is heavily involved in religion or has a certain personality, like adopting to rules and conforming to norms, that they are guaranteed to have a negative attitude towards homosexuals. Rather it just suggests that those who have homophobia are more likely to have some of these factors and if many of these factors are present than homonegativity may be right around the corner. In both studies religion and personality are mentioned as factors, but neither study investigates if religion influences and shapes one’s personality. Since religion is such a high predictor of homosexual relationships, it is important to see if it changes one’s personality to also be against homosexuals. Personality is a combination of both nature and nurture, working together to create a person with certain characteristics. As religion is often something that people do not adopt until they are older, it begs the question as how much impact it has on personality when one is already shaped from their past childhood. Combing through the papers, there seems to be evidence suggesting that religion does not have any significant power or control over one’s
Since the 1980s when the term LGB (lesbian, gay and bisexual) gained popularity, its community has continued to expand in number and supporters. Those whose sexual orientation is not “normal”, have been forced to fight for equal rights with heterosexuals when it comes to romantic relationships. Some of these areas pursued include social security, workplace benefits, and inheritance (Village and Francis, 2008). While certain countries have participated in the legalization of same-sex marriage and unions, other nations have yet to join in this practice, marriage remaining between man and woman only. Even when rights are given and laws are put in place against discrimination, there still tends to be an underlying distaste and homonegativity …show more content…
Each of these elements can provide insight in the lack of support for homosexuals as it is not something one is born with but rather learned. Two studies, Lingiardi et. al. (2016) & Village and Francis (2008) examine a number of these different factors that aid in predicting homonegativity, including two that provide strong evidence for homonegativity, religion and personality. Both religion and personality have rather broad definitions and luckily the two studies view them in similar ways. Personality is measured in each study from personality questionnaires, though the tests chosen to do so differ, while religiosity is measured based off of church attendance and self-reported belief in God. Each study is conducted in a different country, one examining Italy while the other looks at England. Having two different countries allows one to examine the factors from different backgrounds. Religion is a prime example as the nation’s differ in faith, Italy being culturally Catholic and England as Anglican. These studies predict that of these factors, religion will be a strong indicator of negative attitudes towards homosexuality, the higher the religiosity the higher the …show more content…
This does not suggest that if one is heavily involved in religion or has a certain personality, like adopting to rules and conforming to norms, that they are guaranteed to have a negative attitude towards homosexuals. Rather it just suggests that those who have homophobia are more likely to have some of these factors and if many of these factors are present than homonegativity may be right around the corner. In both studies religion and personality are mentioned as factors, but neither study investigates if religion influences and shapes one’s personality. Since religion is such a high predictor of homosexual relationships, it is important to see if it changes one’s personality to also be against homosexuals. Personality is a combination of both nature and nurture, working together to create a person with certain characteristics. As religion is often something that people do not adopt until they are older, it begs the question as how much impact it has on personality when one is already shaped from their past childhood. Combing through the papers, there seems to be evidence suggesting that religion does not have any significant power or control over one’s