Disgusting = criminal ??

This has to be one of the most stupid surveys ever reported.

Seven in 10 people in Singapore frown on homosexuality: study

Singapore - Seven in 10 people in Singapore frown on homosexuality, with the highly religious and those conforming to social norms most likely to be anti-gay, a study said on Thursday.

Conducted by Nanyang Technological University's School of Communication and Information, more than 1,000 individuals were queried.

The findings published in The Straits Times showed that 68.6 per cent of the respondents "generally held negative attitudes," 22.9 per cent had positive attitudes and 8.5 per cent were neutral.

"Intrinsic religiosity," - viewing religion as the primary driving force in life - emerged as the strongest predictor of anti-gay sentiment, the study said.

On average, Christians and Muslims were seen as holding significantly more negative attitudes than Buddhists and freethinkers.

Those who conformed to social norms also viewed homosexuality negatively.

The law in Singapore criminalizes homosexual sex, although it is rarely enforced. The government told parliament recently that public feedback made it clear that the majority of people want the law to remain.

Most married people and the elderly also held a more negative view of homosexuality than those who were single and young, the study said.//DPA

There is nothing in the survey that examines the comparative reactions towards "negative behaviour". I'll be interested to hear how the people with the so-called intrinsic religiosity justify why adultery, eating pork or visiting prostitutes can be "disgusting" but not criminal.

EDIT (20/09/07) Thank you for making a good point, Mr Wang.

EDIT (21/09/07)
The article describing the survey is available here. The method of the survey (published here) is interesting. Some of the questions were focused on personal reactions to homosexual behaviour on film.

Examples of the questions asked:
Do you mind watching two men making love on screen?
Do you mind watching a homosexual couple starting a family with children in a film?

Other questions were posed to gauge reactions towards homosexuals in real life but these questions were not published.

Simply put, this survey is intended to explore the personal comfort levels of Singaporean viewers in reaction to homosexual behaviour on the medium of film. At no time during the survey were the respondents asked if male homosexuality should be a criminal offence. Or if the government should continue to deprive a significant segment of their lawful rights. There is nothing in the survey that makes a convincing argument to elevate film preferences into criminal jurisprudence.

Worse, the authors of the survey concedes that the results cannot be used to determine the reactions of Singaporeans towards homosexuals in real life.

Although attitudes toward lesbians and gay men correlate with tolerance of media portrayals of homosexuality, it is somewhat surprising that the correlation is not higher than it is. This moderate relationship suggests that how Singaporeans feel about homosexuality on the screen is only loosely connected to their attitudes toward lesbians and gay men in real life.

Asserting the results of this survey to support not repealing s377A is like citing restaurant reviews to outlaw the consumption of pork in this country.