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Book: Researching Global Religious Landscapes

Chapter: Heteronormative Religion? Attitudes to Abortion and Same-Sex Relationships on a Global Scale

DOI: 10.1558/equinox.44297

Blurb:

In this chapter we explore the association between religion and heteronormativity in data from our mixed-method study with young adults globally. We present some descriptive quantitative results, results from a cluster analysis and a multi-variate CHAID analysis. In addition, interview data help us to further nuance our understanding. On the one hand, our findings are consistent with many previous studies confirming the association between religion and heteronormativity, and on the other, they also indicate for example that tradition as a value is also an independent and relevant factor. In this there are considerable variations between countries and contexts. How LGBTQI persons living in a heteronormative context themselves reproduce, manage or resist negative attitudes also varies significantly. The explorative approach in this chapter does not necessarily present new or surprising results. Rather, our use of a form of triangulation as an approach to our data underscores the value of systematic reflexivity – viewing things from different perspectives and in different lights. This is especially important when it comes to complex phenomena like religion, gender and sexuality, and in cross-cultural studies.

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