A Quantitative Inquiry into South African Undergraduate University Students’ Perceptions of Religiously Sanctioned Homophobia

Abstract

The paper investigates the factors that inform university undergraduate students’ perceptions of religiously sanctioned homophobia. Data was drawn from a quantitative survey conducted in 2017 on students’ perceptions of social norms, heteronormativity, and homophobia at a South African urban-based university. A total of 330 undergraduate students completed the survey. The study found statistically significant correlations between the factors of sex, degree of religiosity and family socialization and the undergraduate students’ perceptions of religiously sanctioned homophobia. Male students demonstrated more support for religiously sanctioned homophobia than did female students. Students with a higher degree of religiosity were more likely to support statements that enforced homophobia than did students with a lower degree of religiosity. Students who had been socialized in homophobic families were more likely to support religiously sanctioned homophobia than were students who had grown up in more tolerant families. The study did not find statistically significant correlations between the factors of frequency of exposure to religious services and place of origin and the undergraduate students’ perceptions of religiously sanctioned homophobia. The paper makes a substantive contribution to the limited South African studies that focus on the broader student population’s perceptions of religiously sanctioned homophobia