RELIGION IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETIES
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RELIGION IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETIES
Religion plays an important role in contributing to societal value formation and development. Ibikunle (2015) suggested that religion had wide-reaching effects with its influences being spread over every sphere of culture and society. Though religions are diversified in their practices and traditions, Haluza DeLay (2014) has conceptualized religion as the worldviews, beliefs, and practices across borders and time zones that lead to transnational and transhistorical movements. Christianity is a major religion that has become the world’s largest religion geographically. It is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion that is focused on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. The essence of this religion can be understood from the perspectives of Eastern Orthodox, Protestants, and Roman Catholics. Any religion sets a culture that represents a set of ways of ideas and life, and practices.
Religion has been linked to social values by several researchers. Ergil (1984) defined social values as ‘the moral beliefs and principles that are accepted by the majority to ensure the continuity of the society. Religion is a driving force for individuals to learn, develop and maintain social values (Josiah, 2021). Ibikunle (2015) also demonstrated that the social attitudes of people are primarily influenced by the moral beliefs and values taught by religious organizations. According to the 2020 Report on International Religious Freedom: Singapore, about 18.8% of the population in Singapore are Christians. Though the residents of Singapore are considered to be spiritual people, the younger generations have been found to blend the old traditions of their religion into contemporary practices to adapt to the modern world. The Singapore government has taken a secular stance toward religious institutions and it is expected that all religions would adhere to the state ideology.
The LGBT community can be considered as a spectrum consisting of the groupings of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer groups. The LGBT+ community advocates their need for pride, diversity, individuality, and sexuality. With the prevalence of Article 377A in Singapore, the LGBT community had been facing many challenges. Article 337A was inherited from British rule and retained by Singapore post its independence. The law criminalized sex between men, hence making homosexuality illegal. However, in February 2022, the Supreme Court of Singapore posited that men cannot be prosecuted for having intercourse with other men. Following this stance, the Singaporean Government finally decided to repeal Article 377A of the Penal Code in August 2022.
STATUS OF THE LGBT COMMUNITY
Over the recent decades, changes have been found in the legal status of homosexuality with increased support for gay and lesbian communities and wider acceptance of their rights. Collective behaviors have also witnessed transformation with gay pride parades being held as mass annual events with innumerable attendees in several countries. There has been a global trend of approval of homosexual tendencies with 87% of countries moving in that direction. The following table shows the global trend in homosexuality and gay rights.
Source: Smith et al., 2014
The intercontinental researches reflect a global shift towards greater acceptance of homosexuality and gay rights. However, the magnitude and intensity vary as it is dependent on several socio-cultural factors associated with it. Regional reports also show mixed results. For example, acceptance of homosexuality has been substantively present among Latin Americans while people in Europe are divided on their positions on the issue. It is interesting to note that younger generations are more prone to be more accepting of diverse sexual orientations and have often been found to report more gay friends. The following table highlights the cross-national differences in public attitudes towards homosexuality and gay rights.
Source: Smith et al., 2014
STATISTICS RELATED TO LGBT+ IN SINGAPORE
A look at the results of various surveys would help to form a proper picture of the LGBT+ scenario in Singapore. In 2010, a survey conducted by Nanyang Technology University found that 64.5% of people in Singapore viewed homosexuality as negative while 25% of people were in favor of it (Mokhtar, 2018). A 2013 poll by the Institute of Policy Studies revealed that 78% of Singaporeans were opposed to same-sex marriage (Reuters, 2014). In a survey that was held in 2019, it was found that among participants who considered themselves highly religious, only 23% supported homosexual partnerships (Kim, 2019). A recent study showed that 44% of Singaporean people were in favor of the retention of Article 377A while 20% were in complete opposition and 32% did not fall in either of the two groups (Yuen-C, 2022). Therefore, as is quite evident from the demographics of public opinion though Singapore seems to be a conservative society, there is growing support for LGBT rights.
RELIGION AND HOMOSEXUALITY
Public opinion has highlighted that religious people are more prejudiced toward the concept of homosexuality than non-religious people. Several pieces of research have shown that religion seems to be an important predictor of developing attitudes toward homosexuality (Olson et al., 2006). A study by Roggemans et al. (2015) found that Christian and Muslim believers mostly showed negative attitudes toward same-sex relationships. Countries that emphasized diversity and self-expression have been found to make major progress in this field of tolerating homosexuality.
Personal religious beliefs and religious affiliations have been found to influence attitudes toward social issues. Yip (2005) has pointed out in his study that the religious beliefs associated with homosexuality are referred to as ‘unnatural’, ‘impure’, and ‘ungodly’. Olson et al. (2006) stated that the factors associated with maintaining such negative attitudes include negative framing, active religious involvement, exposure to religious literature regularly, and regular contact with religious friends. Often people form anti-homosexual attitudes due to fear of divine punishment or the fear of society.
An important factor to be considered while exploring sexual attitudes is that of religious fundamentalism. This refers to the conviction that behaviors and attitudes must be dictated by formal religious teachings and traditions. It is important to understand the differences between religious fundamentalism and religiosity. While religiosity is the immersion of religious belief in daily living, religious fundamentalism, on the other hand, considers religious dogma as the only true source of moral authority.
CHRISTIANITY AND HOMOSEXUALITY
Religion is influencing sexuality for ages. Within the purview of the doctrines of Christianity, there are various views related to sexual orientation and homosexuality. While individuals belonging to the religion may hold different opinions, the Catholic Church and the Orthodox condemn homosexuality. The Catholic church posits that homosexuality is a tendency toward sin and that people who are homosexually inclined should practice chastity. Research indicates that the teachings of the Catholic Church against homosexuality lead to feelings of conflict and distress among the Christian LGBT community (Deguara, 2020). Orthodox churches also view homosexuality unfavorably. It considers homosexuality and other sexual orientations as disruptions to the marriage and family structures. However, there are churches and religious institutions present across the world today that have adopted a liberal stance toward such issues. They affirm that human sexual orientations, whether homosexual or heterosexual are a divine gift and an addition to the diversity of the human population. A wide array of beliefs and ideas are associated with homosexuality among diversified religious groups. Concerning Christianity, conservative Protestants have been found to have the least accepting attitudes (Burdett et al., 2005). Often living in a religious culture can influence the attitudes of a person even if the person is not himself/herself religious.
However, the relationship between sexual attitudes and contemporary religion has been witnessing a shift to liberal and progressive views concerning sexuality. With the rapid sharing of information through several media, people get wide access to a variety of knowledge and opinions. With the advent of the information era, religious institutions have been found to have less influence over one’s moral and social values. As the various groups become less unique and less influential, individual differences related to religiosity and spirituality have been found to become major contributors to the field of sexual perspectives. Therefore while studying aspects of homosexuality owing to the diversity among religious groups, it is important to give importance to religiosity in determining its effect on the formation of homosexual attitudes.
SOCIETY AND HOMOSEXUALITY
Even though diverse sexual traditions exist in many Southeast Asian counties and the worldwide scientific acceptance that homosexuality is a normal variant of sexuality, societies continue to have a stigma against the LGBT community. There has been a plethora of incidents where the LGBT community has faced discrimination in the workplace and public areas, experienced violence, and lacked legal rights and access to freedom of expression (office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human rights, 2012). There have been innumerable cases related to violence in the form of hate crimes and bullying of children belonging to the LGBT spectrum.
Public opinion seems to play a dominant role in determining social attitudes. Public opinion occurs in the backdrop of a larger societal context. To understand the various factors associated with homosexuality, public opinion has often been used as a metric. Women have been found to have less homonegative attitudes than men. On a similar line, the younger generation with good schooling and fewer religious connections is more accepting of same-sex relationships (Slootmaeckers and Lievens, 2014). It is also important to note that people who interact personally with sexual minority people often tend to have the least homonegative attitudes.
Several societal attributes have been linked with attitudes toward homosexuality and gay rights. It has been found that countries with high per capita income and h long history of democratic stability are more inclined toward acceptance of different human sexual orientations (Hooghe and Muessen, 2013). Non-orthodox countries that were more urbanized and had low immigrant populations tend to support gay rights more than orthodox countries like those which follow the doctrines of the religion of Islam. Establishing pro-gay legislation like gay marriage and adoptions by gay parents, decriminalization of homosexuality, and introduction of anti-discrimination laws was related to a more acceptable stance. The aggregate level of religiousness also influenced perceptions regarding homosexuality (Smith et al., 2014).
Demographic variables showed that the acceptance of homosexuality and gay rights tend to be more in the case of younger adults who receive better education opportunities. Also, young people who attend religious services less frequently and women show more positive attitudes towards people of different sexual orientations. Compared to older adults, adults belonging to the mid-age range find nothing offensive in gay marriages and same-sex relationships (Smith et al., 2014).
Two major socio-cultural factors that affect the perception of people toward homosexual people are religious condemnation and cultural exclusion. Religious condemnation entails the institutionalized moral exclusion of same-sex relationships. Cultural exclusion, on the other hand, involves traditional beliefs that gay men are incompatible in marriage or in raising a family.
HOMOSEXUALITY IN SINGAPORE
Research regarding attitudes towards the LGBT+ community has mostly been conducted in western countries while little empirical work is based on Asian countries. Research has shown that less rejecting views of homosexuality are prevalent in Singapore (Manalastas et al., 2017). Singapore, therefore, with the abolition of 377A can be considered to be a gay-friendly country along with the Philippines and Thailand. There have been discussions on the ramifications of homosexuals holding civil service positions in Singapore. With the increasingly globalized media environment, censorship guidelines that reflect societal changes also need to be modified.
Sex between men was not only considered to be illegal in the past but there were also censorship guidelines that imposed a ban on media from promoting homosexual acts. Decriminalization of homosexuality among men has been a major step taken by Singapore and acts as a small step toward the integration of the LGBT+ community into society. Singapore witnessed a change in attitudes towards homosexuals because of many societal factors. These factors include conformity to the norms, intrinsic religiosity, western orientations, and mediated contact influence. Just as people are divided in terms of their opinion on the issue of repealing Article 377A, the church is also susceptible to division. Before the repeal of the law, gay men were punishable with up to two years of jail time for engaging in gay sex. The National Council of Churches of Singapore was in support of the decision in which the law existed but was not imposed. On the other hand, the Alliance of Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches of Singapore emphasizes that the abolition of such an act requires modifying the existing framework of acceptable sexual relationships and acts as a step toward bringing homosexuality into the mainstream.
Issues regarding homosexuality have gained mixed reactions from the residents of Singapore who value religiosity. Evangelical institutions have been opposing the repeal of the law. There was dissent among many Christians when the news regarding the repeal of the law spread across the country. Attempts have always been made to bring back people from homosexual orientation to heterosexual relations to maintain the social order of the institution of marriage. There have been situations where the ministry has showcased scenarios showing the stories of Christians who have turned away from same-sex attraction and moved toward the restoration of their heterosexual relationships. Then again some people do not conform to any side and have taken a middle ground. They do not support homosexuality but also do not possess any strong reaction against it. There have been instances where some Christians have felt that the law acts as a barrier to the church’s witness. The law prevents open communication between Christians and LGBT community to form relationships. It is a ray of hope that younger generations are keen on welcoming and providing a safe space for those dealing with the challenges associated with homosexuality. Many churches have been holding discussions to make people aware of the practical handles of how to relate to friends and family who have different opinions on this matter.
It can be stated that religious attitudes towards homosexuality reflect the society around them. Every religion perceives homosexuality in an in way. As research has shown, religion seems to be an important predictor of developing social perceptions and religious commitment has been linked to sexual attitude formation. When religious doctrines are conservative and rigid, people still tend to adhere to them for fear of divine punishment. Intrinsic religiosity plays a critical role in determining the sexual attitudes of people. Intrinsic religiosity can be defined as the use of religion irrespective of any social or other external pressures. It can be considered as an internally oriented religiousness. Intrinsically religious people define themselves by their religiosity and hence, it is evident that their attitudes will be influenced by this religiosity. Though religiosity impacts sexual attitudes, the effects may be mediated by individual differences. Intrinsic religiosity and religious fundamentalism might serve as key contributors to conservative sexual attitudes among Euro-Americans and Asians (Ahrold and Meston, 2010).
The attitude of an individual towards sexual issues holds public relevance. Cognitive and social factors have been found to have a discernible bearing on the formation of attitudes. The religious faith of people affects their sexual attitudes. Religion has been found to exert immense control over one’s sexuality and attitude toward sexuality. Different religions preach different teachings regarding sexual concerns. However, research conducted in this field globally has mostly shown that an inverse relationship exists between religious adherence and attitudes toward homosexuality in most cases.
Sexual attitudes form an important psychological component of one’s sexuality. Religious self-attitude is associated with sexual attitudes while religious behavior has been found to predict sexual behavior (Sharma et al., 2020). This highlights the significance of intrinsic religiosity in determining sexual attitudes toward the LGBT community. Often in the Christian community, females are more affected by fundamentalism and societal regulations regarding sexuality since it is believed that women are responsible for managing and restricting sexuality in their own lives as well as in society.
CONCLUSION
The above research has highlighted that religion plays a vital role in determining one’s attitudes toward homosexuality and in turn the LGBT community. However, it is not religion per se that affects these attitudes. The formation of positive or negative social attitudes is largely confined within the realm of intrinsic religiosity. Needless to mention, that religion is an important sociocultural factor that has a great societal impact in bearing influence on the arranging of attitudes related to homosexuality.
Concerning Singapore, the recent repealing of Article 377A paved the way for the celebration of gay rights across the country. Though opinions are divided among different factions of society, in general, Singapore is liberal about its advocacy of the LGBT community. Singapore with its diverse religions and cultures among the residents fosters a good environment for cultivating tolerance towards a wide range of sexual attitudes. Singapore is known for its strict legislation and has been widely known to enforce stringent laws on several occasions. While it is too early to know what changes would be about in society following the repealing of Article 377A, Singapore has made undeniable progress concerning LGBT rights in the community.
Also, as pointed out above that the dynamics between socio-cultural factors and religious attitudes help in shaping views regarding the issue. Singapore being a business-oriented country is quite developed in terms of urbanization and per capita income. These societal attributes play a key role in creating more acceptable positions towards diversity in any aspect. Research has mostly focused on western countries while evaluating attitudes toward sexuality. It is crucial to undertake more research in this field concerning Southeast Asian countries to explore more in this domain.
References
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