Partisan and religious Drivers of moral conservatism: Same-sex marriage and abortion in Northern Ireland

Tonge, J ORCID: 0000-0002-4350-9101 and Evans, J (2018) Partisan and religious Drivers of moral conservatism: Same-sex marriage and abortion in Northern Ireland. Party Politics, 24 (4). pp. 335-346.

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Abstract

This article assesses the importance of religious affiliation, observance, faith and party choice in categorizing attitudes to two of the most important contemporary moral and ethical issues: same-sex marriage and abortion. While religious conditioning of moral attitudes has long been seen as important, this article goes beyond analyses grounded in religiosity to explore whether support for particular political parties – and the cues received from those parties on moral questions – may counter or reinforce messages from the churches. Drawing upon new data from the extensive survey of public opinion in the 2015 Northern Ireland election study, the article analyses the salience of religious, party choice and demographic variables in determining attitudes towards these two key social issues. Same-sex marriage and abortion (other than in very exceptional abortion cases) are both still banned in Northern Ireland, but the moral and religious conservatism underpinning prohibition has come under increasing challenge, especially in respect of same-sex marriage. The extent to which political messages compete with religious ones may influence attitudes to the moral issues of the moment.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Abortion, Faith, Northern Ireland, Political parties, Religion, Same-sex marriage
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	28 Jul 2016 14:29
Last Modified:	19 Jan 2023 07:32
DOI:	10.1177/1354068816656665
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3002574