Ethnonationalism and attitudes towards gay and lesbian rights in Northern Ireland

Abstract

Disputes over gay and lesbian rights occupy a central place on both national and international agendas in recent years. This is also the case in societies emerging from chronic ethnonational conflict where debates over gay and lesbian rights vs. ethnic‐based rights predominate. While much scholarly work focuses on the influence of socio‐demographic factors in determining attitudes toward gay and lesbian rights in postconflict societies, to date, the role of political influences, such as ethnonationalism, is noticeably under‐researched. It is with this omission in mind that this paper focuses on the influence of ethnonationalism, or congruency in religious, national and communal identity, on attitudes towards gay and lesbian rights issues. Using nationally representative data from Northern Ireland, the results suggest that while ethnonationalism is a key predictor of attitudes among Protestants, it is socio‐demographic factors, such as gender, age and educational attainment, that are the primary determinants of Catholic views.

The Influence of Religion and Ethnonationalism on Public Attitudes towards Amnesty: Northern Ireland as a Case Study

“…41 To allow for this factor, ethnonationalism is operationalised in terms of congruency -Protestants who perceive themselves as both British and Unionist and Catholics who are willing to see themselves as both Irish and Nationalist -in ethnonational selfidentification. As in recent survey research, whereas 46 per cent of Protestants were willing to choose both identities and regard themselves as British and unionists, 48 per cent of Catholics were willing to describe themselves as both Irish andNationalist 42.…”

Between Co-Option and Radical Opposition: A Comparative Analysis of Power-Sharing on Gender Equality and LGBTQ rights in Northern Ireland and Lebanon

“…5 This omission is surprising in light of work that demonstrates the specific ways homophobia has become major expressions of societal hate in some post-conflict societies. 6 Towards addressing these gaps, we examine the implications of consociationalism on both gender equality and LGBTQ rights. More specifically, we ask whether power-sharing structures impact comparably or differently on issues gender and sexual issues.…”

“…31 attitudes towards the teaching of gay and lesbian rights in schools. 35 In accounting for differences between nationalists and unionists on LGBTQ rights, a significant factor concerns how the two groups have conceived and deployed the human rights discourse that undergirds Northern Ireland's liberal power-sharing. There is a prevailing consensus in the literature that discriminatory laws in the personal status codessuch as those pertaining to marriage, nationality, adultery and divorce -are key to understanding women's societal subordination and political underrepresentation in Lebanon.…”

Living a fairy tale: the educational experiences of transgender and gender non-conforming youth in Northern Ireland

“…The conservative Christian moral order that is said to pervade NI (Inglis, 1987;Livingstone, Keane, & Boal, 1998;Conrad, 1999;Mitchell, 2006) has been found to negatively impact public and political attitudes to lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) and Running head: LIVING A FAIRY TALE 6 TGNC rights (Hayes, 1995;Hayes & Nagle, 2015;Kitchin & Lysaght, 2004). Conservative Christianity also has a strong influence over the education system, since schools receive government funding on the basis of having a Christian-based ethos and curriculum (DE, 2015).…”