Abstract

This research analyzes the attitude toward abortion in 32 countries using World Value Survey(WVS) data. Particularly, this study aims at figuring out the impact of religion on the attitude toward abortion in terms of religion, the level of participation in religious service, and the significance of religion in life. We find that the most negative attitude toward abortion is revealed in South American countries such as Brazil where conservative Catholicism is dominant. On the other hand, European countries that are secularized, and are mostly rational and “post-materialist,” show the most positive and tolerant attitude toward abortion. Korea, Japan and ex-communist countries are located in between. At the aggregate level, there is a linear relation between the attitude toward abortion and the significance of religion in life and level of participation in religious service. It is interesting that the explanatory power of religion in explaining variation in attitude toward abortion is strongest in European countries although they are mostly rational and secularized. At the individual level, we find in the analysis of five countries that there is a significant difference in the attitude toward abortion by the significance of religion in life and the level of participation in religious service.