title: Explaining attitudes about homosexuality in Confucian and non-Confucian nations: is there a 'cultural' influence?
abstract: The majority of research on attitudes about homosexuality has concentrated on the global North and on Christian and Muslim majority nations. Little research attention has been given to the factors that shape tolerance in societies with a Confucian heritage. Residents of Confucian counties are less tolerant than Europeans and Americans. One reason given for this difference is the emphasis on Confucian values in many Asian societies. Using data from the World Values Survey, we examine whether values that could be described as Confucian influence attitudes in Confucian and non-Confucian nations. We find a unique Confucian cultural effect, which can partially be explained with concerns about keeping the family intact. Conversely, in Confucian societies values related to obedience, conformity, and filial piety are unrelated to attitudes. There is also a small Buddhist contextual effect, resulting in more tolerant attitudes, and the Confucian influence cannot be reduced to an Asian regional effect.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, 524 W. 59th Street, New York, NY 10019, United States. Electronic address: AAdamczyk@jjay.cuny.edu.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Adamczyk
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, 128, Sec. 2, Academia Road, Taipei 11529, Taiwan. Electronic address: aliceyh@gate.sinica.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Yen-hsin Alice
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People; D001290:Attitude; D002016:Buddhism; D032903:Confucianism; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D063509:Homophobia; D006716:Homosexuality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Buddhist; Confucian; Culture; Family; Homosexuality; Values