S3 Episode 6: Abortion, Religion & Liberalism with Professor Amy Adamczyk
In this timely episode James and Will welcome Amy Adamczyk, Professor of Sociology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and The Graduate Center, City University of New York. Amy discusses her sociological exploration of attitudes towards abortion, in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and other assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs), and the role that religious and other socio-demographic factors play in shaping these attitudes. Amy presents the results of a comparative quantitative analysis of attitudes to abortion across 70 countries, before presenting findings of more in-depth qualitative work into attitudes in the US and China, and the role of liberalism in these different contexts. In the Chinese context, abortion is a less contentious issue, and Amy discusses the comparative hardening of attitudes to abortion in the US in the context of the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Roe vs Wade decision, which had guaranteed the right to abortion across the US. Amy discusses the international implications of this decision, whilst considering the socio-economic and other demographic factors that influence ‘country-level’ attitudes to abortion and ARTs.
(This episode was recorded in March 2023)
This podcast is 56 minutes and 43 seconds long.
The keywords associated with this episode are:
- Abortion
- Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs)
- USA
- Roe vs Wade
- China
- Comparative Sociology
To learn more about the contributors work, we recommend you check out:
| Adamczyk, A. (2022). Religion as a Micro and Macro Property: Investigating the Multilevel Relationship between Religion and Abortion Attitudes across the Globe. European Sociological Review, 38(5): 816–831. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcac017 Adamczyk, A., Kim, C. and Dillon, L. (2020). Examining Public Opinion about Abortion: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review of Research over the Last 15 Years. Sociol Inq, 90: 920-954. https://doi.org/10.1111/soin.12351 Adamczyk, A., Liu, Y. and Scott, J. (2021). Understanding the role of religion in shaping cross-national and domestic attitudes and interest in abortion, homosexuality, and pornography using traditional and Google search data. Social Science Research, 100: 102602. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2021.102602 Amy also has forthcoming book on Cross National Views on Abortion where much of the data discussed in this episode will be presented, so do keep your eyes out for that as well! |