Abstract
This study analyzes the attitudes towards the right to life and the religiosity of young people (16–18 years old) in Lithuania. We will focus on euthanasia and abortion as two cases indicating attitudes of young people towards the possible limitation of the right to life. Abortion and euthanasia are rarely debated in public in Lithuania; from time to time conservative politicians and the Roman Catholic Church try to initiate such discussions, but they are not widely-supported. One of the public spheres open for this topic is religious education in public schools. Thus, the pupils are a relevant group to research attitudes to the right to life. The respondents of this empirical analysis were Lithuanian young people (n = 427). The findings indicate that respondents who regard religion as a personal matter show more liberal attitudes towards euthanasia and abortion, while those who have more traditional opinions about religiosity support its active participation in public life and express more conservative and prohibiting views on euthanasia and abortion. Contrary to our expectations, respondents who disapprove of abortion had a positive approach to women’s rights.
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Notes
- 1.
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, 1992. Internet access: http://www3.lrs.lt/home/Konstitucija/Constitution.htm, accessed on August 17, 2017.
- 2.
Minister of Health of the Republic of Lithuania order 1994 01 28 No. 50 “Regarding the order of the termination of pregnancy operation” (in Lithuanian). Internet access: https://www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/TAR.9913EAF57AEA, accessed on August 17, 2017.
- 3.
Lietuvos sveikatos statistika. Lietuvos Respublikos Sveikatos apsaugos minsiterijos Higienos instituto Sveikatos informacijos centro svetainė. Internet access: www.sic.hi.lt, accessed on October 25, 2017.
- 4.
Lietuvos Respublikos gyvybės prenatalinėje fazėje apsaugos įstatymas (Republic of Lithuania Law on the Preservation of Life in the Prenatal Phase). 2013. Internet access: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAP/TAIS.444122?jfwid=wny8rlqxj, accessed on October 25, 2017.
- 5.
Lietuvos Respublikos eutananzijos įstatymas. (Republic of Lithuania Law of Euthanasia) 2014. Internet access: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAP/e03fae30220811e4988dd8c7447f8ac5?positionInSearchResults=47&searchModelUUID=884fe6fe-d270-49d1-8e36-a10672125b09. accessed on October 25, 2017.
- 6.
Apklausa: Beveik pusė Lietuvos gyventojų pritaria eutanazijos įteisinimui (Inquiry: almost half of Lithuanian population supporst the legalization of euthanasia). 2012.
Internet access: https://www.15min.lt/naujiena/aktualu/lietuva/apklausa-beveik-puse-lietuvos-gyventoju-pritaria-eutanazijos-iteisinimui-56-225086 accessed on October 25, 2017.
- 7.
Report of 2012 public survey “The Peculiarities of Secularization in Lithuania” archived at Vytautas Magnus University.
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Ališauskienė, M., Maslauskaitė, A. (2019). Attitudes Towards the Right to Life and the Religiosity of Young People in Lithuania. In: Ziebertz, HG., Zaccaria, F. (eds) Euthanasia, Abortion, Death Penalty and Religion – The Right to Life and its Limitations. Religion and Human Rights, vol 4. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98773-6_8
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