I was
interested to stumble upon this
page which speaks of a global map of homophobia. Unsurprisingly the two big
findings were that sub-Saharan African and Muslim-majority countries are the
least accepting of homosexuals, and Western and Latin American countries are the
most accepting.
While,
as you'd expect, you're better off being gay in a country in which Islam hasn't
had very much political influence, you're also much better off being gay in a
country that's wealthy and prosperous.
On first
glance the article writer seems to be favouring the idea that wealthy nations
are more open and accepting of homosexuality, and more willing to institutionalise
it in marriage. In my view, that proposed causality is slightly adrift of the
truth - it's more probably the case that many of the same things that helped
the nations' prosperity just happen to be the same things that make them open
to homosexuality - that is, respect for the rights of individuals, a stable
society, and high value of freedom and tolerance - all of which are what helped those nations
become prosperous.
It's
also worth adding that the more a country is influenced by Islam* the less
likely it is to be broadly tolerant and open to individual freedom, which means
not only is it more likely to be unaccepting of homosexuality, it is also less
likely to be wealthy and prosperous.
The upshot is, if you're
going to be the sort of society in which gay couples can win the freedom and
tolerance they require to foster acceptance of homosexuality, you're going to
need to be the sort of society that values freedom and tolerance anyway. So my
hunch is that it's not that economic prosperity has made homosexual acceptance
possible, but rather that the same qualities that engender economic growth are
also the qualities that engender the qualities required for acceptance of
homosexuality.
* Sadly, I'm sorry to say, there are a few parts of the world (some African countries, for example), in which Christian homophobic intolerance is pretty rife.
* Sadly, I'm sorry to say, there are a few parts of the world (some African countries, for example), in which Christian homophobic intolerance is pretty rife.
