Attitudes Towards the Right to Life and the Religiosity of Young People in Lithuania

This study analyzes the attitudes towards the right to life and the religiosity of young people (16–18 years old) in Lithuania. We will focus on euthanasia and abortion as two cases indicating attitudes of young people towards the possible limitation of the right to life. Abortion and euthanasia are rarely debated in public in Lithuania; from time to time conservative politicians and the Roman Catholic Church try to initiate such discussions, but they are not widely-supported. One of the public spheres open for this topic is religious education in public schools. Thus, the pupils are a relevant group to research attitudes to the right to life. The respondents of this empirical analysis were Lithuanian young people (n = 427). The findings indicate that respondents who regard religion as a personal matter show more liberal attitudes towards euthanasia and abortion, while those who have more traditional opinions about religiosity support its active participation in public life and express more conservative and prohibiting views on euthanasia and abortion. Contrary to our expectations, respondents who disapprove of abortion had a positive approach to women’s rights.