Religion and the Rainbow Struggle: Does Religion Factor Into Attitudes Toward Homosexuality and Same-Sex Civil Unions in Brazil?

The provision of civil liberties to LGBT persons has become part of a global movement in societies across the world. In Brazil, a recent judicial ruling for the first time established the right for homosexual couples to enter into civil unions, despite the presence of widespread disapproval of homosexuality among the population and opposition from prominent religious groups. Picking up on this issue, the following study examines whether religion may factor into the attitudes Brazilians hold toward homosexuality and same-sex civil unions. Using data from the Brazilian Social Research Survey, we find that the most restrictive views toward homosexuality and the strongest opposition to same-sex civil unions are most prevalent among devoted followers of historical Protestant, Pentecostal, and Catholic faith traditions, whereas adherents of Afro-Brazilian and spiritist religions, as well as those with no religious commitment, are inclined to assume a more tolerant moral posture toward such issues. The findings point to religion as a potential influence in future public policy initiatives and social movements involving LGBT issues in Brazil.     

纸币的威力:北美英属殖民地经验及其理论意义

18世纪上半叶,宾夕法尼亚等许多北美英属殖民地政府,相继通过发行纸币成功地解决了经济发展过程中出现的货币供应不足问题。北美殖民地发行纸币实践所体现的理论意义,至今仍然没有过时。这些理论意义包括:一、纸币等象征性货币具有金银等贵金属铸币不可比拟的优越性;二、一国货币供应和创造的任务应当主要由国有银行承担。     

Understanding public attitudes towards Social Security

There has been very little research on why individuals hold different attitudes toward Social Security. In this article we integrate social location theory and political predisposition theory to provide a framework of explanation and test these theories using a unique sample from the 1998 General Social Survey. Our multivariate results reveal that social structural positions along the lines of race, gender, class and age play a more important role than political predispositions in explain-ing individual differences in support for the current Social Security system against privatisation. Political party affiliation also partly contributes to variation in support for Social Security, but political ideology does not have a significant effect. Our results suggest that with regard to support for Social Security, primary consideration must rest on social structural positions. Racial minorities, women, the poor and the elderly tend to dislike a drastic change in the current Social Security system, and Social Security reform ought to pay attention to their concerns. Our robust finding of a positive relationship between age and support for Social Security also challenges much of the established knowledge, pointing to an intergenerational discord over Social Security. It is also important to differentiate among social welfare programmes in order to uncover the real determinants of public attitudes towards them.     

伊斯兰革命前后美国对伊政策述评

1979年的伊朗伊斯兰革命的爆发是美国在中东外交的一大挫败。美国在这一革命前后所采取的政策充分表明了美国试图控制伊朗局势的努力与伊朗社会现实的不合拍,表明美国行政当局对伊朗社会演变的不了解。而美国外交政策在伊期兰革命前后的摇摆,更表明了美国外交中某些外强中干的本质。     

福克纳作品中的"怪诞"

美国地方色彩十分鲜明的文学流派———南方文学在艺术上呈现出一个鲜明的特征———怪诞。南方代表作家福克纳广泛使用"哥特小说"技巧,抒写恐怖离奇的故事,描绘阴森的背景,渲染怪诞氛围,刻画身体畸形、精神变态的人物,勾勒出一个"哥特世界"(GothicWorld)。这种哥特式的怪诞广泛运用于福克纳的创作中,但是,我们应该看到矗立在怪诞现象背后的是南方人特殊的文化背景和文化心理。     

论当代资本主义发展的不平衡性

当代资本主义显现出发展的不平衡性:美国恪守单一私人占有制的传统模式和向富人倾斜的收入分配政策;欧洲推行"混合经济"模式和均等化的收入分配政策。其原因是:欧洲各国工人反对资本主义的斗争卓有成效,社会民主党长期执政,受社会主义影响较深;而美国工人阶级力量薄弱,斗争力度不强,右翼势力强大,受自由主义影响深重。     

Maternal union instability and childhood mortality risk in the Global South, 2010–14

Efforts to improve child survival in lower-income countries typically focus on fundamental factors such as economic resources and infrastructure provision, even though research from post-industrial countries confirms that family instability has important health consequences. We tested the association between maternal union instability and children’s mortality risk in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia using children’s actual experience of mortality (discrete-time probit hazard models) as well as their experience of untreated morbidity (probit regression). Children of divorced/separated mothers experience compromised survival chances, but children of mothers who have never been in a union generally do not. Among children of partnered women, those whose mothers have experienced prior union transitions have a higher mortality risk. Targeting children of mothers who have experienced union instability—regardless of current union status—may augment ongoing efforts to reduce childhood mortality, especially in Africa and Latin America where union transitions are common.     

Disclosing Lesbian and Gay Male Sexual Orientation in Later Life: Attitudes of Younger and Older Generations in Eight Latin American Countries

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research was to explore attitudes toward older lesbians and gay men disclosing their sexual preferences in eight Latin American countries. The sample consisted of 1,539 participants belonging to three age groups (18–29 years, 60–69 years, and 70 years and over). Their answers to two open-ended questions were content-analyzed, and binary logistic regressions were run on the extreme attitudinal categories. Results showed that although most attitudes were positive, a solid percentage of participants still expressed different kinds of derogatory attitudes. Men (as compared to women) and participants who were more religious and less educated tended to hold more negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. Both older samples were more prejudiced than the younger one, and attitudes also varied according to country. There was a general trend showing more positive attitudes toward older lesbians and gay men in those countries where sexual minorities’ rights are better assured, which suggests that measures to protect sexual minorities and to make sexual diversity in older age visible could be advisable.     

对海洋霸权与大陆均势关系的再探讨

虽然以往研究海洋霸权与大陆均势关系的成果颇丰,但还是存在一些不足。为此,本文对海洋霸权与大陆均势关系的结构类型、运行机制及其影响等进行了深化与细化。在海洋霸权国国力大于或小于或等于大陆均势中的有关国家的不同情况下,大陆均势可以分为不需要海洋霸权仅凭大陆国家就能形成的大陆均势和需要海洋霸权且支持其中一方才能形成的大陆均势。不同的国力对比和均势构成情况,对海洋霸权与大陆国家的政治安全与经济发展所产生的影响是不同的。经过分析和比较,本文得出结论:海陆分界难分优劣,关系互补战略呼应,这就是美英极力推行海洋霸权与大陆均势战略的现实诠释。