Wednesday June 16, 2010
Majority of Brazilians Oppose Homosexual Adoption Despite Supreme Court Ruling: Poll
By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent
SAO PAULO, June 15, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A majority of Brazilians are opposed to gay adoption according to a poll released this month, despite a recent ruling by the nation’s Supreme Court permitting a homosexual couple to adopt a child.
The poll results indicate that 51% of Brazilians oppose gay adoption, while only 39% favor it. The survey consisted of interviews with 2,660 people throughout Brazil, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2%.
Despite the Catholic Church’s strong condemnation of homosexual behavior and opposition to gay adoption, Catholics were far more likely to support the practice than Evangelicals. The finding likely reflects the socialist inclinations of the Catholic bishops of the country, who tend to support the left-wing administration of President Luis Lula da Silva and deemphasize personal morality in favor of political ideology.
While only 47% of Catholics were opposed to gay adoption, 41% were in favor, according to the poll. Among Evangelicals, 71% were opposed, while only 22% were favorable.
Toni Reis, president of the Brazilian Association of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transvestites and Transsexuals, admitted to the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper that “we’ll need many parades and marches to convince the population that we are citizens who deserve the right to paternity and maternity.” However he regards the figures from the poll as “very good news” because they represent an improvement for the homosexual movement from previous attitudes.