Does Religion Matter? Public Opinion on Social Issues in Costa Rica

Abstract

This article determines whether there is a relationship between religious beliefs and the perception of the Costa Rican population about various social problems and social behaviors. Data used for this purpose was obtained from a national public opinion survey, in which the opinions of Costa Rican population regarding various social problems and behaviors were collected. Such information was related, in most cases, to sexual and reproductive rights. It can be concluded that Costa Rican population behaves as predicted by the academic literature on this subject. People who profess an Evangelical Pentecostal belief or who indicate having a high religiosity, are more likely to adopt a non-favorable position towards sexual and reproductive rights. However, considering analyzed data, a relationship between the religious beliefs of the Costa Rican population and their perception regarding various social problems cannot be established. Resumen Este articulo determina si existe una relacion entre las creencias religiosas y la percepcion de la poblacion costarricense sobre diversos problemas y comportamientos sociales. Los datos utilizados se obtuvieron de una encuesta realizada a escala nacional, en la que se recopilaron las opiniones de la poblacion costarricense con respecto a diversos problemas y comportamientos sociales. Dicha informacion estaba relacionada, en la mayoria de los casos, con los derechos sexuales y reproductivos. Se concluye que la poblacion costarricense se comporta segun lo predicho por la literatura academica sobre este tema, las personas que profesan una creencia evangelica pentecostal o que indican tener una alta religiosidad, tienen mas probabilidades de adoptar una posicion no favorable hacia los derechos sexuales y reproductivos. Sin embargo, considerando los datos analizados, no se puede establecer una relacion entre las creencias religiosas de la poblacion costarricense y su percepcion con respecto a diversos problemas sociales. Palabras clave: Religion; Opinion publica; Diversidad sexual; comportamiento social; Costa Rica