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Religion and attitudes concerning euthanasia

Australia in the 1990s

Australian National University, joanna.sikora{at}anu.edu.au

What was the influence of religious identity, beliefs and practices on attitudes to euthanasia in Australia during the 1990s? To address this question I analyse data from national representative surveys and find that denomination, church attendance and beliefs in personal God all made a difference to attitudes to voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia in unique ways. Moreover, the acceptance of a scientific outlook, comprising elements of Darwinism and modern cosmology, enhanced support for the right to `easy death' amongst the non-religious. Formal education did not directly polarize attitudes to this issue, but it raised the likelihood of accepting a scientific cosmology. A scientific outlook, in turn, strengthened the belief that, in some circumstances, the deliberate taking of life should be allowed. But even as levels of education increased and both church attendance and the intensity of religious beliefs declined, Australian churchgoers and worshippers maintained their fervent opposition to euthanasia.

Key Words: assisted suicide • belief in God • mercy killing • public opinion in Australia • scientific worldview

Journal of Sociology, Vol. 45, No. 1, 31-54 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1440783308099985


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