Practicing Catholics and their attitudes on homosexuality. Comparative analyses, based on recent World Values Survey data

The question in our essay is primarily whether the rejection of homosexuality still enjoys the support of the rank and file of the global Catholic faithful, and secondly, whether practicing Catholics (weekly Church attenders, “Dominicantes”) are more tolerant than the societies surrounding them in accepting homosexuality and in accepting homosexual neighbors. Our work, based on data from the “World Values Survey”, shows that the Vatican teaching on homosexuality has less and less followers, and that in the light of the close relationships of homosexuality acceptancy indicators with those of support for a democratic Open Society, discussed at length in the article, a rethinking of the entire issue would be advisable, if the Roman Catholic Church would like to continue to claim to be pillar of a democratic civil society.