Nearly Three Out of Four In Russia Believe Homosexuality ‘Morally Unacceptable’

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One of the most under-reported, and unfortunate, realities surrounding the recent LGBT backlash in Russia stems not from the fact that such legislation has been speared from the Kremlin, but that the bulk of the Russian populace supports such discrimination. Following the leadership of a resurgent Russian Orthodox Church, a newly released poll shows that 72 percent of Russians believe homosexuality is “morally unacceptable,” with only 18 percent noting that it was either acceptable or not an issue of morality.

Not only were the numbers staggeringly high for a nominally European nation, but the rate of those citing immorality was far greater than those criticizing abortion (44 percent), premarital sex (30 percent), and divorce (22 percent).

Per Pew,

This sentiment cuts across Russian society. Nearly equal numbers of men and women and young (18-29) and old (50+) think homosexuality is morally unacceptable. In addition, 65% of Russians with a college degree think homosexuality is immoral, while 75% without a college degree concur. Even among those Russians who think religion is not too or not at all important in their lives, 65% say homosexuality is wrong.

Unfortunately, as the poll was conducted in early 2013, it seems likely the numbers have only continued to shift against the LGBT community. A recent HRW report highlighted the metastasizing anti-LGBT bigotry running across Russia, one of the innumerable issues besting the Sochi Olympics, and one which seems only likely to continue beyond the Games.

Casey Michel is a graduate student at Columbia University, and former Peace Corps Kazakhstan volunteer. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Slate, and Talking Points Memo, and he has contributed multiple long-form investigations to Minneapolis’s City Pages and the Houston Press. You can follow him on Twitter.