Volu m e I - Purdue University Calumet

gay civil rights and homosexuality. In 1965, 82% of men believed that homosexuals were harmful to the
American lifestyle while only 58% of women shared that same point of view. Since then, that trend has
stayed the same in most cases. This trend, in Herek’s eyes, is linked to the idea that an individual who is
homophobic will push and distance themselves away from anything that has to due with homosexuality
because of their own personal insecurities. Many who say they do not support the gay movement have most
likely at one time or another have had homosexual thoughts themselves, but were too afraid of other’s
opinions to voice how they had felt.
Branching off Herek’s thought had led me into Attacking the Attacker by Andrew Yip. He, like Herek,
believes the reason for many of those who attend religious services at conservative institutions are distancing
themselves as much as possible due to what is being taught amongst the congregation.
Throughout each article that I had researched for this paper, there have been multiple reoccurring
themes. Many researchers seem to agree that age, education, religious attendance, and gender play
dominant roles in how tolerant a person becomes on issues such as gay rights. Fear seems to overpower
many in the sense that they are afraid of somebody finding out they may have had some type of homosexual
thoughts or tendencies at one point or another. For each other causal mechanism, research has been done
to prove, to a certain point, the relationship between each dependent and independent variable. It is
apparent that many see the same issues having an effect on political tolerance for gay rights, yet I do believe
there are other mechanisms that failed to be mentioned that may possess the same, if not more, power to
influence such views.
Hypothesis
As I had referred to previously, one tends to refer to their core beliefs when deciding how to side
on an important issue. No matter the specific religion one may practice, the belief of religion is commonly
considered a strong one throughout those who have faith. With religious conservatives opposing gay rights
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