Prague, Czech Republic - Czechs take a different stance on abortion, religious beliefs and capital punishment than other EU member states, according to an international poll conducted by the Euro RSCG agency published in yesterday's Lidove noviny (LN).
Compared to the EU average, Czechs are more tolerant of abortion, they consider religious belief less important in their lives and more Czechs support death penalty.
The poll was carried out in eight "old" and "two" new EU countries, with 1,000 Czechs participating.
Almost 60 percent of European respondents say that religion plays a significant role in their lives, while only one-third of Czechs share this opinion.
A total of 81 percent of Czechs agree with abortion, while the EU average is 62 percent.
Close to 56 percent of Czechs support capital punishment, while the majority of the EU is against it, with only 38 percent of Europeans agreeing with the death penalty.
Czechs also take a stricter stance on unemployment benefits and free health care for low-income groups. While 93 percent of Italians agree with free health care for low-income groups, only 72 percent of Czech respondents support this idea.
The poll has revealed that Czech views do not significantly differ from the European average on 60 percent of questions, including the importance of science and research, employment and environmental issues.