Religion, Contact, and Ambivalent Attitudes Toward the Rights of Gays and Lesbians in Barbados.

Over 70 countries in the world currently carry anti-gay laws, among which is Barbados, a small English-speaking Caribbean island. This study evaluates whether heterosexuals in Barbados are consistent or ambivalent in their attitudes toward anti-gay law reform and the extent to which competing messages from interpersonal contact and religion affect ambivalence. The analysis revealed that a majority of heterosexuals hold ambivalent attitudes about gay and lesbian rights. Moreover, results from a multinomial logistic regression imply that Barbadians whose views on sexuality were theologically based were less likely to support restrictions on same-sex intimacy when they have a close relationship with a gay man or lesbian. However, this decline in support for the laws brought about by meaningful contact did not translate to support for gay and lesbian rights among the religiously inclined. Rather, it manifested itself as a state of attitudinal ambivalence.

Protecting the fabric of society? Heterosexual views on the usefulness of the anti-gay laws in Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.

This study evaluated the extent to which people living in Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago believe that the anti-gay laws currently in place: (1) reflect moral standards; (2) stop the spread of homosexuality; (3) are important from a public health perspective; and (4) protect young people from abuse. Analysis reveals that demographics, religion, interpersonal contact and beliefs about the origin of homosexuality all influenced an individual's views on the usefulness of the anti-gay laws in these states, but the significance of their impacts varied substantially across the arguments.

They called it the 'abominable crime': an analysis of heterosexual support for anti-gay laws in Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.

The aim of this study was to evaluate support for current buggery/sodomy laws in three Caribbean countries-Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. To complete this task, data from the 2013 Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES) 'Attitudes towards homosexuals' surveys were employed. The data analysis revealed that a majority of heterosexuals in the sample generally supported the maintenance and enforcement of the anti-gay laws, and the main predictors of said support were race, country of residence, religiosity, interpersonal contact and beliefs about the origins of homosexuality.