UK ranks number one among most liberal nations on abortion and divorce: survey

According to a recent global study, the United Kingdom has left behind Canada, Germany and Australia to become one of the most socially liberal nations of the world on the issues of divorce and abortion.

In the last five years, Britons have moved further towards acceptance of casual sex, prostitution and homosexuality, the World Values Survey stated, which is a progression from saying earlier that these practices are justifiable.

The survey by the Policy Institute at King’s College London is focused on 24 nations across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Americas, accounting for around half of the population of the world.

The UK rankedat the top among the four nations which consider matters like casual sex, euthanasia, divorce, abortion, and suicide. Swedes have emerged as the most liberal people on abortion and divorce, the French have liberal thoughts on suicide, and Germans are liberal about euthanasia.

“What were once pressing moral concerns – things like homosexuality, divorce and casual sex – have become simple facts of life for much of the public,” said Prof Bobby Duffy, the Policy Institute's director.

“This mostly isn’t just driven by younger generations replacing older generations. All generations have changed their views significantly,” he added.

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Speaking about the issue of executions, Duffy said that the enthusiasm of the British for the death penalty had softened in recent years, but the matter remains bound up with political identities, “with Conservative voters much more supportive of capital punishment [67 per cent said it was at least potentially justifiable] than Labour voters [47 per cent], which helps explain why it continues to be brought up in political discussions”.

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