Navigating moral grey areas: the evolution of ethical justification across time in the Indian context

Ethical frameworks guide the evaluation of actions in terms of right and wrong, yet behaviors subject to moral reasoning often lack absolute categorization. This study examines the evolution of ethical values in India from 1990 to 2022, focusing on contested behaviors such as homosexuality, prostitution, abortion, divorce, and suicide. Utilizing data from the World Values Survey (WVS), ordinal logistic regression modeling is applied to assess the influence of socio-demographic and socio-economic factors such as age, income, education, and religiosity on moral justification over time. The findings indicate a significant increase in the acceptance of homosexuality, stable attitudes toward prostitution, and divergent trends in the justification of abortion and divorce, with notable liberalization in recent waves. Justification for suicide remains largely unchanged. Higher income and education levels are associated with greater acceptance of these behaviors, whereas religiosity consistently serves as a deterrent. These findings underscore the interplay between economic development, educational attainment, and religious values in shaping India’s evolving moral landscape.