The influence of the religious background on moral attitudes towards homosexuals. The difference between Dutch Catholics, Dutch Protestants, Dutch Muslims and non-religious Dutch.

Abstract

Negative attitudes towards homosexuals are still present. A quarter of the homosexual men and lesbian women experienced negatively treatment(s) in public spaces Besides, the American Nashville statement got support from some Dutch citizens and political parties. Researches discovered a relationship between intolerant behaviour towards homosexuals and their religion. The current thesis focuses on what extent religious background affects attitudes towards homosexuals. To explore this, literature research has been conducted. The background of Christianity and Islam and their views on homosexuality were investigated. As a theoretical base of this study, the Identity theory and the Social Identity theory were applied. The role of identity on religious behaviour is studied and the influence of religion on peoples’ moral attitudes. The quantitative research data, from the European Value Study 2017, was analysed using SPSS, to answer the research question. According to the results, both religion as the importance of religion affects people’s moral attitude towards homosexuals. However, people's attitudes turned out not to be as negative as expected. Depillarization and modernization are processes that possibly can explain these positive attitudes. Extensive research is recommended to provide more knowledge about the role of modernization. Also including attitudes towards transgenders and non-binary people in the research would be useful to create a more inclusive society.