Same-Sex Adoption as a Welfare Alternative? Conservatism, Neoliberal Values, and Support for Adoption by Same-Sex Couples

Abstract

Despite conservatives' long-term opposition to gay and lesbian parenting, scholars theorize that a strong commitment to neoliberalism may influence conservative Americans to become more tolerant of same-sex adoption as a way to relieve the government from subsidizing poor families. Drawing on national survey data (2010 Baylor Religion Survey), we test whether holding neoliberal values is associated with greater support for same-sex adoption in general and across political or religious conservatives. We find no support for either theory-emphatically the opposite, in fact. Neoliberal values are negatively associated with support for same-sex adoption for Americans in general and among political and religious conservatives. We find little evidence of a tension among conservatives regarding same-sex adoption as both their neoliberal values and moral beliefs incline them to oppose same-sex adoption along with other same-sex family relationships.

Religion and Public Opinion Toward Same‐Sex Relations, Marriage, and Adoption: Does the Type of Practice Matter?

“…The most consistent measure of theological conservatism in studies of public opinion toward homosexuality is adherence to biblical literalism(Perry 2015;Perry and Whitehead 2015), and we follow this precedent in our study. 3 A drawback of using the 2005 BRS is that same-sex marriages gained legal recognition in June 2015, and that attitudes toward homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and adoption have changed since 2005, and thus, it is possible that the association between religion and attitudes toward the various same-sex relationship types may have changed since then.…”

“…The most consistent measure of theological conservatism in studies of public opinion toward homosexuality is adherence to biblical literalism (Perry ; Perry and Whitehead ), and we follow this precedent in our study.…”

“…RELIGION AND SAME-SEX PRACTICES 639 findings is beyond the scope of this article, the majority of research has found that evangelical Protestants (but also Muslims; see Adamczyk and Pitt 2009) compared to other religious or nonreligious groups, persons who are more religious (typically in terms of church attendance or some composite measure of religiosity) and more theologically conservative or fundamentalist (as often measured by biblical literalism or being "born again") tend to oppose homosexual orientation or sexuality (Adamczyk and Pitt 2009;Jonathan 2008;Perry 2013a;Schulte and Battle 2004), gay marriage and civil unions (Baunach 2012;Becker 2012;Burdette et al 2005;Doan et al 2014;Haider-Markel and Joslyn 2008;Merino 2013;Perry 2013aPerry , 2015Olson et al 2006;Sherkat et al 2010Sherkat et al , 2011Whitehead 2010Whitehead , 2014aWhitehead , 2014bWhitehead and Perry 2015), and adoption by gays and lesbians (Averett et al 2011;Besen and Zicklin 2007;McLeod et al 1999;Lambert et al 2006;Perry 2013a;Ryan et al 2004Ryan et al , 2007Whitehead and Perry 2014). Although these general findings about religion's impact on support for same-sex orientation and practices are consistent, there are reasons to expect that the effect of religion may vary by the type of same-sex intimate practice under consideration.…”

“…Although gay and lesbian romantic and family relationships in the United States remain a perennial topic of debate, acceptance of such relationships has risen steadily over the past few decades (Baunach 2012;Doan et al 2014;Rosenfeld 2007). Research on the social correlates of attitudes toward same-sex relationships consistently finds that people who are more opposed to such relationships tend to be older; male; politically conservative; southern; African American; more rural; less educated; less exposed to diversity; hold to the belief that homosexuality is a choice, not innate; gender traditionalists; and, most consistently, tend to be more religiously devout and/or conservative by a variety of measures (Adamczyk and Pitt 2009;Baunach 2012;Becker 2012;Burdette et al 2005;Doan et al 2014;Haider-Markel and Joslyn 2008;Merino 2013;Olson et al 2006;Perry 2013aPerry , 2013bPerry , 2015Sherkat et al 2010Sherkat et al , 2011Whitehead 2010Whitehead , 2014bWhitehead and Baker 2012). Moreover, recent research suggests that traditionally strong predictors of opposition to same-sex intimacy-e.g., being African American, attributing homosexuality to choice, political conservatism-are greatly moderated by religious factors as well (Baunach 2012;Perry 2015;Sherkat et al 2010Sherkat et al , 2011Whitehead 2010Whitehead , 2014aWhitehead , 2014b.…”

Religion and Non‐traditional Families in the United States

“…In another study, however, Perry () also found that White Americans who were more interested in passing along religious heritage to their children tended to be less supportive of interracial marriage with African Americans, Asians, and Latinos, suggesting that for White Americans, religious identities may be equated with whiteness to some degree. And in related studies, Perry and Whitehead (, ) found that Christian nationalism – a situation in which religious and national identities converge – is a strong predictor of White Americans' opposition to interracial marriage and transracial adoption. These authors propose that the merging of national identity (which is necessarily a reinforcing of social boundaries) with religious identity creates a situation in which national identity is suffused with religious meaning and ethno‐racial boundaries are strongly reinforced.…”