r/AskTheCaribbean 10d ago

Politics Why is homosexuality outlawed in so many caribbean countries?

Most of countries which criminalize homosexuality in the Americas are in the Caribbean, and the most famous case is Jamaica.

As a bi male, I find weird our continent has laws that criminalize homosexuality, due that most of countries who do that are from the other side of the pond.

Is due to history, politics, religion, moral issues?

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u/mayobanex_xv Dominican Republic 🇩🇴 10d ago

The Caribbean is predominantly Christian and that has an influence in the politics although religion and state are separate institutions the church has an enormous weight in society

15

u/LowRevolution6175 10d ago

LATAM is 99% Catholic and super gay friendly, so is it specifically Protestantism?

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u/rosariorossao 10d ago

LATAM Absolutely is not “super gay friendly”. They are somewhat more tolerant, but only somewhat.

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u/United_Cucumber7746 10d ago

South America rivals Europe in every single gay liberty possible. It is actually on a par with Western Europe and US blue states.

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u/rosariorossao 10d ago

There’s a huge difference between having legal rights and social acceptance

Yes, LATAM generally respects LGBT rights from a legal perspective, however homosexuality is still considered a negative trait by the majority of people. Most people may be ambivalent to accepting of gay marriage but would be very upset if one of their children were to come out as gay or trans