The acceptance of same-sex relationships varies among different religious communities in India, with Hindus being the most open-minded, according to a survey conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS)-Lokniti in collaboration with Azim Premji University in Bengaluru. The study, titled ‘Politics and Society between Elections 2019,’ surveyed over 24,000 respondents from 12 Indian states, shedding light on the attitudes towards homosexuality within different religious groups.
The survey’s findings revealed that Hindus were more accepting of same-sex relationships compared to Christians, Muslims, and Sikhs. While 22 percent of Hindus agreed that society should accept same-sex relationships, the corresponding figures were 13 percent for Christians and Muslims, and 20 percent for Sikhs. Notably, Hindus had the highest percentage of respondents who were accepting of same-sex relationships among all religious communities.
On the other hand, the survey indicated that over 78 percent of Christian respondents and 57 percent of Muslim respondents expressed their disapproval of society accepting homosexual relationships. Among Sikhs, the rejection rate was 46 percent, and for Hindus, it was 47 percent, slightly below the national average rejection rate of 55 percent.
Regarding the recognition of same-sex relationships, more than half of the respondents disapproved of such recognition. Although more than a quarter of the respondents overall chose the ‘No Opinion’ response, the share of ‘No Opinion’ response was less than 10% in Mizoram and Nagaland.
More than 20% of the respondents in Uttarakhand (21 percent), Delhi (22 percent), Jammu and Kashmir (23 percent), Uttar Pradesh (25 percent), Tripura (37 percent) and Punjab (39 percent) did not hold any opinion.
Among those respondents who held an opinion, a majority rejected the acceptance of same-sex couples. Mizoram at 87% recorded the highest share of respondents who strongly rejected the statement, followed by Nagaland (63%), Jammu and Kashmir (63%) and Kerala (58%).
The greatest support for same-sex couples came from Uttar Pradesh where 36 % of the respondents agreed with the statement. Tamil Nadu (30%) and Delhi (30%) were the other states with relatively higher acceptance of same-sex relationships.
Contrary to the Indian government’s claim that advocacy for same-sex marriage reflects “urban elitist views,” the survey revealed that both urban and rural areas showed similar levels of acceptance. At least 19% of respondents from both urban and rural areas supported same-sex marriage.
However, the survey also highlighted that 59% of urban respondents and 53% of rural respondents did not want society to accept same-sex relationships. The divide between urban and rural acceptance might be attributed to the fact that 28% of rural respondents and 22% of urban respondents did not have a clear opinion on the matter, possibly due to limited media exposure and less discussion of such issues in rural areas.
Professor Sanjay Kumar, co-director of Lokniti-CSDS, suggested that the lower opinion formation in rural areas might be a result of homosexuality being considered a taboo subject. He stated, “It is a topic that is less discussed, so a large section of society doesn’t have an opinion because their media exposure around such issues could be low.”
It may be noted here that the Supreme Court of India has reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriage. Following a 10-day hearing, a five-judge Constitution bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud has decided to withhold judgment for the time being.