In this episode of International Horizons, sociologist Amy Adamczyk of CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice discusses the role of religion in determining people’s attitudes on a range of issues such as abortion and homosexuality. From a global perspective, we also discuss the peculiarities of religiosity in the United States, which is an outlier because of its relatively high levels of religiosity compared to other wealthy democracies. Adamczyk also discusses the intersection between religion, abortion and LGTBQ+ issues, considering that the world has become widely accepting of sexual diversity in the past 20 years. Finally, the conversation revolves around Adamcyzk’s most recent co-authored book Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion on to the Next Generation, which addresses the factors that make children religious.
In this episode, LGBTQ activist Adrian Coman talks to John Torpey, Presidential Professor of Sociology and History at the Graduate Center and director of the Ralph Bunche Institute, about the clashes between domestic laws and those of the European Union, the challenges of LGBTQ activism, how politicians instrumentalize homophobia to stay in power, the controversy over trans teens, and the key issues to be addressed in order to increase inclusion.