NOT ALL ‘SINS’ ARE REJECTED EQUALLY: RESISTANCE TO LGBT RIGHTS ACROSS RELIGIONS IN COLOMBIA

Abstract

Attitudes towards homosexuality and same-sex marriage in the Americas and Europe have been found to be tightly related to religion, and especially, how religion is practiced. However, religious individuals are not consistent in their rejection of homosexuality. We explore how religions and religious individuals differ among each other in attitudes towards not just homosexuality, but also other policy areas they consider sins, such as marihuana consumption, abortion, euthanasia, use of contraceptives, and pre-marital sex. Using data for Colombia, we find that Evangelicals are the most reliable opponents of LGBT rights in the country and reject homosexuality more deeply than other sins. They thus target homosexuality distinctively. We also find that attitudes toward homosexuality among Evangelicals seem unresponsive to education. Because of this more pronounced homophobia among Evangelicals, we thus conclude that countries like Colombia that are experiencing increases in the population and levels of organization of Evangelicals are likely to face greater backlash against the expansion of LGBT rights.