Religiousness, Religious Orientation, And Attitudes Towards Gays And Lesbians

    Authors

    R. D. Fisher; D. Derison; C. F. Polley; J. Cadman;D. Johnston

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    J. Appl. Soc. Psychol.

    Keywords

    PREJUDICE; Psychology, Social

    Abstract

    Two studies are reported that examine the relationships among religiousness, religious orientation, and prejudice toward gays and lesbians. Study 1 reports the results of a survey done for the purposes of scientific jury selection. These results suggest that Baptists, fundamentalists, and ''Christians'' display more antigay prejudice than do Catholics, Jews, and many Protestant denominations, but even many supporters of gay-tolerant religions show more antigay prejudice than those claiming no religious preference. Among those with a religious preference, frequency of worship is significantly related to antigay prejudice among those belonging to antigay denominations, but not among those belonging to more gay tolerant religious faiths. Study 2 reports the results of a study of college students regarding religiousness, religious orientation, and prejudice toward gays and lesbians. Results showed that self reported religiousness, frequency of worship, and Batson's internal and external scales were all positively correlated with measures of prejudice toward gays and lesbians, whereas scores on the Quest (Interactional) scale were negatively correlated. Results of both studies strongly challenge the view that those with an intrinsic religious orientation are unprejudiced. It is argued that a social influence process can account for the role played by religious practice and beliefs in creating and maintaining negative attitudes toward gays and lesbians.

    Journal Title

    Journal of Applied Social Psychology

    Volume

    24

    Issue/Number

    7

    Publication Date

    1-1-1994

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    614

    Last Page

    630

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:A1994PA23900004

    ISSN

    0021-9029

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