AN EXAMINATION OF PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF POPE FRANCIS BLESSINGS APPROVAL FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES: A CASE STUDY OF AKOKA RESIDENTS, LAGOS STATE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study: Although same-sex marriage was not a central goal of the LGBT movement in the 1970s, at the turn of the century it quickly came to the center of the movement agenda both in the United States and in many other industrialized nations. The movement for same-sex marriage is part of an international movement. The first nation to legalize same-sex marriage was the Netherlands in 2000, followed by over a dozen countries in Western Europe, North America, and South America, along with the nation of South Africa. By the start of 2013, in the United States, nine states and the District of Columbia had legalized same-sex marriage, and four additional states recognized same-sex marriages performed in other states (Kahn, 1989).

Although contested by some activists within the LGBT movement, the push for same-sex marriage has been at the center of the LGBT movement agenda since the turn of the century. Some of this momentum has been motivated by organizers like Evan Wolfson, who was involved in Hawaii Baehr v. Lewin and went on to found The Freedom to Marry Coalition in 2003 to advocate for same-sex marriage. The 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that established the right of same-sex couples in Massachusetts to marry was the beginning of a backlash against same-sex marriage that diverted significant LGBT movement resources to the legalization of same-sex marriage (Knight, 1994).

Most of this movement energy was spent fighting antigay ballot measures that would ban same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage has been voted on by the American public in a series of ballots measures across the country since 1998. Thirty of these ballot measures were legislative-referred initiatives to revise the state constitution to ban same-sex marriages (APnews, 2023). These marriage bans have passed overwhelmingly at the ballot box; they have been defeated only twice in Arizona (2006) and Minnesota (2012) (Stone, 2012). The most contentious ballot measure to date has been California Proposition 8, the only marriage ban to overturn legalized marriage. Proposition 8 countered a 2008 decision by the California Supreme Court to allow same-sex marriage. Between the California Supreme Court case and the campaign, more than 18 000 same-sex marriages were conducted in the state of California. The LGBT campaign to fight Proposition 8 and the Religious Right campaign raised over $40 million dollars, shattering campaign spending records. When Proposition 8 passed in the November 2012 election, there were protests across the country, and the marriage ban was contested in the Supreme Court case Hollingsworth versus Perry. Although these ballot measures have been a successful strategy for the Religious Right, the LGBT movement experienced its first winning streak in the November 2012 election, when voters in Minnesota rejected a marriage ban and voters in Maryland and Washington affirmed same-sex marriage laws that had been recently passed by their legislatures. Maine voters also passed same-sex marriage through an initiative that was proposed by LGBT organizers (Philip, 2023).

Marriage was not the only goal. There were many other LGBT movement accomplishments during this time period. For example, the overturn of sodomy laws in the Supreme Court case Lawrence versus Texas (2003) struck down existing sodomy laws in 14 US states. In October 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which covered hate crime acts for both sexual orientation and gender identity. Later, President Obama repealed the ban on gay and lesbian service members, although transgender service members are still banned from the US military.

There were unsuccessful attempts to pass a federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which has been ongoing since the 1970s. However, there was a dramatic growth in nondiscrimination laws at the local level. As of 2007, over half of the US population was covered by a state, county, and/or city law against discrimination based on sexual orientation, whereas in 1990, less than a third of the population was covered by such laws. An increasing number of state and city laws also included gender identity and expression, which offers more protection for transgender individuals (New York Times, 2023). The passage of these local laws was a consequence of growing support in public opinion for LGBT rights, strength in local movement organizations, and assistance by national organizations.

The LGBT movement also increasingly focused attention on intersectional issues, such as immigration reform and social security. Transgender organizing and media visibility grew, along with the first national transgender rights organization, the National Center for Transgender Equality, which was established in 2003.

Statement of research problem

Pope Francis formally approved letting Catholic priests bless same-sex couples, the Vatican announced Monday, a radical shift in policy that aimed at making the church more inclusive while maintaining its strict ban on gay marriage (CNN News, 2023).

But while the Vatican statement was heralded by some as a step toward breaking down discrimination in the Catholic Church, some LGBTQ+ advocates warned it underscored the church’s idea that gay couples remain inferior to heterosexual partnerships (Punchng, 2023).

The document from the Vatican’s doctrine office elaborates on a letter Francis sent to two conservative cardinals that was published in October. In that preliminary response, Francis suggested such blessings could be offered under some circumstances if the blessings weren’t confused with the ritual of marriage The new document repeats that condition and elaborates on it, reaffirming that marriage is a lifelong union between a man and a woman (Vatican News, 2023). And it stresses that blessings in question must not be tied to any specific Catholic celebration or religious service and should not be conferred at the same time as a civil union ceremony. Moreover, the blessings cannot use set rituals or even involve the clothing and gestures that belong in a wedding. But it says requests for such blessings for same-sex couples should not be denied. It offers an extensive and broad definition of the term “blessing” in Scripture to insist that people seeking a transcendent relationship with God and looking for his love and mercy shouldn’t be held up to an impossible moral standard to receive it (Vatican News, 2023).

Objectives of the study

The primary goal of this study is to:

1. Assess public perception of Pope Francis blessing approval for same-sex.

2. To find out if Pope Francis blessing approval for same-sex would lead to a decline in Catholic membership.

Research questions

1. How do the public perceive Pope Francis blessing approval for same-sex?

2. How do Pope Francis blessing approval for same-sex affect Catholic membership?

Research hypothesis

H1: There is a negative public perception of Pope Francis blessing approval for same-sex.

H1a: There is a positive public perception of Pope Francis blessing approval for same-sex.

H2n: There is no decline Catholic membership owing to Pope Francis blessing approval for same-sex affect.

H2a: There is a decline Catholic membership owing to Pope Francis blessing approval for same-sex affect.

Significance of the study

The findings of this study will reveal the perception of the public concerning Pope Francis blessing approval for same-sex affect Catholic membership and thus create a pathway to douse the intra-faith conflict on morality. The findings of this study will also show the extent of public perception towards religion and morality.

Scope of the study

The findings of this study is limited to the opinions of people in Lagos state, Nigeria. This is geographical scope helps to give precision to the problem discussed. Also, this study is limited to Pope Francis blessing approval for same-sex marriage. While, there are a lot of gender controversy, same-sex blessing approval is the core of this study.

Limitations of the study

This study is limited to responses gathered from participants in Lagos state, Nigeria. While, the findings of this study remains valid, the results stands a chance of great improvement if the scope was expanded to accommodate respondents from other local government areas in Lagos state and even other states. Furthermore, this study focused on same-sex marriage blessing approval, while this scope adds concision to this study, it would have allowed for a robust literature if the scholarly opinions on gender related perceptions were reviewed. However, despite, these limitation, the results of this study was not impaired. Rather, these gaps are openings for further studies.

Operational definition of terms

Same-sex: Partners of the same sex and/or gender identity. For example, a marriage between two men or two women.

Gender: the male sex or the female sex, especially when considered with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones, or one of a range of other identities that do not correspond to established ideas of male and female.

Perception: the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.

Couple: two people who are married or otherwise closely associated romantically or sexually.