Religiosity and Public Attitudes toward Abortion among Turkish Adults: from an Islamic Perspective

Abstract

For several decades, a handful of studies have examined the relationship between religion and abortion; they particularly pay attention to public attitudes. However, fewer quantitative studies have considered Muslims' attitudes toward abortion. This study explores a new religious and traditional perspective that comes from Islam and also enhances the existing literature on the topic of religion and abortion. The significance of this study is based on the fact that Turkey, as well as its importance of geographical location and cultural heritage in today's world, is one of two Muslim-populated countries in which performing abortion is legal. In order to measure the pulse of the public about this topic, we used data from the fourth wave of the European Value Study (2008). Our purpose is to display how religious factors influence people’s attitudes toward practicing abortion in the cases, "Women who are not married" and "A couple who does not want more children." The findings indicate that people who have a high level of religiosity are more likely to disapprove of the practice of abortion. This finding also can be a considerable indicator of public attitudes regarding abortion to contribute to probable changes in the abortion policy of Turkey.