Paper Prepared for the 76 th Annual Meeting of ASR J W Marriott Hotel San Francisco, US August 14, 2014 Religion and Attitudes towards Abortion and Non-Traditional Sexual Behaviors: A Cross-National Comparison among Korea, Japan, the United States, and the Philippines Kim, Sang-Wook (Sungkyunkwan University) Kim, Sung Gun (Seowon University) Kim, Byung-Soo (Hanyang University) 1
Research Question How religious affiliation affects social attitudes More specifically, depending on religious affiliation, how do attitudes towards abortion (Y1) and nontraditional sexual behaviors (Y2) differ - Non-traditional sexual behaviors: premarital, extramarital sex and homo-sex Cross-national comparison of four countries South Korea Japan the United States the Philippines 2
Previous Research A vast bulk of researches conducted in the West report that religious affiliation is one of the most decisive factors influencing individual attitudes towards abortion and non-marital sexuality (Cochran & Beeghley, 1991; Sullins, 1999; Jelen & Wilcox, 2003; Ellison, Echevarria, & Smith 2005) However, not much (indeed, surprisingly little) attention has been paid to the East, in particular, and (even more acute) the cross-national comparison between the East and West (or, among countries with different socio-economic development and cultural contexts), in general 3
South Korea Why the Four Countries? - Multi-religious society - No dominant faith - Large numbers of atheists and nonbelievers - The most Christianized (Protestant) Country in the East, next to the Philippines (Roman Catholic) - Rivalry between Buddhism and Protestantism Japan - Shintoism used to be prevalent - Buddhism virtually dominates - Large numbers of atheists and nonbelievers - Atypical country in the world in terms of religion and culture 4
United States - The predominance of Christianity - Extant studies heavily conducted in the U.S. - the Christian contextual effect: Biblical literalism ; Moral community Philippines - Religious (Non-secular) society - Roman Catholicism dominates - Muslims are minority 5
Hypotheses [H1] Religion vs. No-Religion across All Countries People not following a religion are more likely to have liberal attitudes towards abortion (Y1) and non-traditional sexual behaviors (Y2) than those following a religion across all countries <Rationale> High levels of religiosity and spirituality tend to lead to conservative attitudes towards sexuality 6
[H2] Protestants vs. Buddhists in Korea (& Japan) Buddhists tend to be most liberal, while Protestants are inclined to be most conservative, with respect to their attitudes towards Y1 and Y2, in Korea (and Japan) <Rationale> (1) Unlike other major religions (especially Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, which are monotheistic) Buddhism does not prescribe strict inhibition, if any, against Y1 & Y2; (2) On the other hand, strong familism and son-preference once prevalent in Korea are likely to blur the line between Buddhists and Protestants, though 7
[H3] Catholics vs. Protestants in Korea & the U.S. Catholics are likely to be more liberal than Protestants in their attitudes towards Y1 and Y2 in Korea and the U.S. <Rationale> (1) In Korea and the U.S. alike, Catholics tend to be nominal believers, whilst Protestants are prone to follow the Biblical literalism; (2) Moral Community hypothesis ( Religious contexts influence moral standards over and above individual religiosity ); (3) Catholics in reality are a loosely connected religious entity that consists of various subgroups (traditionalists, moderates, & liberals) 8
[H4] Catholics vs. Protestants vs. Muslims in the Philippines Catholics tend to be most liberal, followed by Protestants and Muslims in order, with respect to their attitudes towards Y1 and Y2 in the Philippines <Rationale> (1) (2) (3) above; (4) Muslims stricter inhibition guidelines against abnormal and/or Non-traditional sexual behaviors 9
[H5] Populace (especially people without religion) in U.S.-Japan vs. Korea-Philippines Regardless their religious affiliations, people in the U.S. and Japan would be more liberal than those in Korea and the Philippines in their attitudes towards Y1 and Y2 <Rationale> Compared to the socio-economically less-developed countries in which survival is more salient, what s important in more-developed countries is self-expression, and the religiously pluralist or more permissive attitudes are likely to flourish there [ Survival vs. Self-Expression ] 10
[H6] Religion and Socio-Economic Status across All Countries Across all countries, the so-called socioeconomically active population will be more liberal in their attitudes towards Y1 and Y2 <Rationale> Males, younger, educated, urbanites, employed, high-incomers tend to retain more permissive attitudes towards Y1 & Y2, compared to their counterparts 11
Data ISSP (International Social Survey Programme) The ISSP keeps collecting quality data since 1984 through collaborative efforts of its member countries (50+) all over the world, with a designated topical module for each year round Religion III Module in 2008 12
Variables Dependent Variables {Y1} Attitude towards Abortion {Y2} Attitude towards Non-Traditional Sexual Behaviors Main Predictor Variable Religious Affiliation (Roman Catholic, Protestant, Buddhism, Islam, No-religion) Control Variables Socio-Economic and/or Socio-Demographic Variables (gender, age, educational attainment, residential area, work status, household income) Subjective Orientations (religious identification, political orientation) 13
Measurement {Y1} Attitude towards Abortion (2 items) Do you personally think it is wrong or not wrong for a woman to have an abortion? If there is a strong chance of serious defect in the baby If the family has a very low income and cannot afford any more children Response categories: Always wrong (1) Not wrong at all (4) 14
{Y2} Attitude towards Non-Traditional Sexual Behaviors (3 items) Do you think it is wrong or not wrong if? If a man and a woman have sexual relations before marriage [premarital sex] If a married person has sexual relations with someone other than his or her husband or wife [extramarital sex] If two adults of the same sex have sexual relations [homo-sex] Response categories: Always wrong (1) Not wrong at all (4) 15
Results Religious Affiliations Korea (N =1,421): No Religion (40.5%), Roman Catholic (9.2%), Protestant (26.5%), Buddhist (23.7%) Japan (N =769): No Religion (64.9%), Buddhist (35.1%) U.S. (N =1,019): No Religion (17.8%), Roman Catholic (25.8%), Protestant (56.4%) Philippines (N =1,062): Roman Catholic (92.6%), Protestant (1.5%), Muslim (5.9%) 16
[H1] Religion vs. No-Religion across All Countries Univariate Analysis (Unadjusted Means) Korea {Y1} No Religion (2.938)* > Buddhist (2.864) > Catholic (2.760) > Protestant (2.615) {Y2} No Religion (1.898)* > Buddhist (1.754) > Catholic (1.646) > Protestant (1.621) Japan {Y1} No Religion (2.647)* > Buddhist (2.467) {Y2} No Religion (2.275)* > Buddhist (1.980) U.S. {Y1} No Religion (3.097)* > Catholic (2.498) > Protestant (2.423) {Y2} No Religion (1.722)* > Catholic (2.187) > Protestant (1.863) 17
Multivariate Analysis (OLS Regression Unstandardized Coefficients) Korea {Y1} Buddhist (.077) > No Religion (.000) > Catholic (-.072) > Protestant (-.200)* {Y2} No Religion (.000) > Buddhist (-.010) > Catholic (-.137)* > Protestant (-.200)* Japan {Y1} No Religion (.000) > Buddhist (-.222)* {Y2} No Religion (.000) > Buddhist (-.097) U.S. {Y1} No Religion (.000) > Catholic (-.105) > Protestant (-.135) {Y2} No Religion (.000) > Catholic (-.132) > Protestant (-.405)* [H1] is supported 18
[H2] Protestants vs. Buddhists in Korea (& Japan) Univariate Analysis (Unadjusted Means) Korea {Y1} Buddhist (2.864)* > Catholic (2.760) > Protestant (2.615) {Y2} Buddhist (1.754) > Catholic (1.646) > Protestant (1.621) Multivariate Analysis (OLS Regression Unstandardized Coefficients) Korea {Y1} Buddhist (.077) > Catholic (-.072) > Protestant (-.200)* {Y2} Buddhist (-.010) > Catholic (-.137)* > Protestant (-.200)* [H2] is supported 19
[H3] Catholics vs. Protestants in Korea & U.S. Univariate Analysis (Unadjusted Means) Korea {Y1} Catholic (2.760) > Protestant (2.615) {Y2} Catholic (1.646) > Protestant (1.621) U.S. {Y1} Catholic (2.498) > Protestant (2.423) {Y2} Catholic (2.187)* > Protestant (1.863) 20
Multivariate Analysis (OLS Regression Unstandardized Coefficients) Korea {Y1} Catholic (-.072) > Protestant (-.200)* {Y2} Catholic (-.137) > Protestant (-.200)* U.S. {Y1} Catholic (-.105) > Protestant (-.135) {Y2} Catholic (-.132) > Protestant (-.405)* [H3] tends to be supported 21
[H4] Catholics vs. Protestants vs. Muslims in the Philippines Univariate Analysis (Unadjusted Means) Philippines {Y1} Muslim (1.714)* > Catholic (1.343) > Protestant (1.156) {Y2} Protestant (1.813)* > Catholic (1.472) > Muslim (1.323) Multivariate Analysis (OLS Regression Unstandarized Coefficients) Philippines {Y1} Muslim (.000) > Catholic (-.355)* > Protestant (-.516)* {Y2} Protestant (.481)* > Catholic (.167)* > Muslim (.000) [H4] is NOT supported 22
[H5] U.S.-Japan vs. Korea-Philippines Univariate Analysis (Unadjusted Means) {Y1} Korea (2.818) > Japan (2.583) > U.S. (2.562) > Philippines (1.362) {Y2} Japan (2.171) > U.S. (2.099) > Korea (1.767) > Philippines (1.468) To try to compare only people w/out religion, a more clear-cut pattern is observed: {Y1} U.S. (3.097) > Korea (2.938) > Japan (2.647) {Y2} U.S. (2.722) > Japan (2.275) > Korea (1.898) [H5] is supported, in general, especially for Y2 and for people without religion 23
[H6] Religion and Socio-Economic Status across All Countries Bivariate Analysis (Zero-Order Correlation Coefficients) Korea: {Y1} Age ( )*; Educ (+)*; Income (+)* {Y2} Male (+)*; Age ( )*; Education (+)*; Worker (+)*; Income (+)* Japan: {Y1} Urban (+)* {Y2} Male (+)*; Age ( )*; Education (+)*; Urban (+)*; Worker (+)*; Income (+)* U.S.: {Y1} Male (+)*; Education (+)*; Worker (+)*; Income (+)* {Y2} Age ( )*; Education (+)*; Worker (+)*; Income (+)* Phil.: {Y1} Male ( )*; Urban ( )* {Y2} Male (+)*; Age ( )*; Urban (+)*; Worker (+)* 24
Multivariate Analysis (OLS Regression Unstandardized Coefficients) Korea: {Y1} Age ( )*; Education (+)*; Income (+)* {Y2} Age ( )* Japan: {Y1} Age (+)* {Y2} Male (+)*; Age ( )*; Worker (+)* U.S.: {Y1} Education (+)*; Income (+)* {Y2} Age ( )*; Education (+)* Phil.: {Y1} Male ( )* {Y2} Male (+)*; Age ( )* [H6] tends to be supported 25
Discussion & Conclusions Driving Force of This Study Attention to the East (East Asia emerges as a remarkably diverse set of societies) Quantitative Analysis Cross-National Comparison Homogeneities and Heterogeneities among major world religions in understanding the impact of religion on individual attitudes towards abnormal and/or nontraditional sexual behaviors 26
[H1] Religion vs. Non-Religion across All Countries Religion and religiosity, indeed, leads to conservative attitudes towards abnormal and/or non-traditional sexuality Consistent with recent studies conducted in Australia (de Visset et al., 2007) and Brazil (Ogland & Verona, 2011) 27
[H2] Protestants vs. Buddhists in Korea Buddhists are indeed most liberal, while Protestants are most conservative, in their sexual attitudes In contrast to monotheistic world-religions, such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, Buddhism does not have any strict rules or guidelines against the induced abortion and non-traditional sexual behaviors Consistent with the recent study conducted in Korea (Chung, 2007) demonstrating that Christian women are much less likely than Buddhist women to have an induced abortion Suggests that, even in a society which is fraught with an extremely low fertility rate, strong familism, and sonpreference, religious affiliation does operate as a significant predictor of sexual attitudes and behaviors 28
[H3] Catholics vs. Protestants in Korea & the U.S. Catholics are indeed more liberal than Protestants there Catholics are more likely to be nominal followers, whereas Protestants tend to be more faithful to Biblical literalism Supports the Moral Community hypothesis Unlike its outer appearance, Catholics in reality are a loosely connected religious entity Suggests the homogeneity or commonality between the East and West? 29
[H4] Catholics vs. Protestants vs. Muslims in the Philippines Unlike our expectations there, Y1 turned out to be most liberal among Muslims, followed by Catholics and Protestants, while Y2 turned out to be most liberal among Protestants, followed by Catholics and Muslims Why are Muslims most liberal to Y1 and most conservative to Y2 in the Philippines? Why are Protestants most conservative to Y1 and most liberal to Y2 there? Provides a case to suggest that studies exhibiting differential sexual attitudes between Protestants and Muslims (Finke & Adamczyk, 2008; Agha, 2009; Adamczyk & Hayes, 2012) are required to try to identify and better account for the possible contingency coming from different sexual behaviors of abortion (Y1) and Non-traditional sexual practices (Y2), respectively 30
[H5] Populace in the U.S.-Japan vs. Korea-Philippines People in the U.S. and Japan indeed tend to be more liberal than people in Korea and the Philippines, which is especially true for those populace who do not follow any religion Provides an overall support for the claim of survival vs. self-expression (Adamczyk & Pitt, 2009; Adamczyk & Hayyes, 2012) 31
[H6] Religion and Socio-Economic Status across All Countries The socio-economically active population i.e., males, younger, educated, urbanites, employed, high-incomers do indeed possess more liberal attitudes towards abortion and non-traditional sexual behaviors across the countries What explains? Presumably, due to the overall openmindedness and permissiveness associated with such active characteristics Does this hold true often irrespective to the East-West, socio-economic development, religious culture or contexts (religious-secular society), and the like? 32
Our further study needs to focus more seriously on - Different Attitudes of Muslims/Protestants toward Y1 and Y2 in the Philippines - Religious/Cultural contexts in each society (ex. The Islam contextual effect toward Y2 in the Philippines) - Contextual explanations (ex. Atypical religious atmosphere in Japan, Strong familism and sonpreference in South Korea) - The homogeneity and heterogeneity between the East and West 33
Thanks a lot! 34