Poll links religion to gay enmity, suicides
Most Americans believe that messages about homosexuality coming from
religious institutions contribute to negative views of gays and
lesbians as well as to higher rates of suicide among gay youths, a new
poll reports.
While divided on whether same-sex relations are
sinful, Americans are more than twice as likely to give houses of
worship low marks on handling the issue of homosexuality, according to
the PRRI/
RNS Religion News poll released October 21. A plurality
(45 percent) of Americans, however, gave their own congregation an A
or B grade on how it handles homosexuality.
In the wake of a
recent spate of teen suicides prompted by antigay harassment and
bullying, the poll indicates a strong concern among U.S. adults about
how religious messages are impacting public discussions of
homosexuality.
Nearly three-quarters of Americans (72 percent)
say religious messages about homosexuality contribute to "negative
views" of gays and lesbians, and nearly two-thirds (65 percent) see a
connection to higher rates of suicide among gay youths.
"I think
we are, without a doubt, making progress," said Brent Childers,
executive director of Faith in America, a nonprofit organization
founded in 2005 to combat negative religious messages about
homosexuality. "There is a growing awareness and understanding about
the harm that is caused when society places a religious or moral stamp
of disapproval on the lives of gay and lesbian individuals, especially
youths."
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Other findings from the poll, conducted by Public
Religion Research Institute in partnership with Religion News Service,
include:
- Nearly half of Americans
age 18–34 say messages from places of worship are contributing "a lot"
to negative views of gay and lesbian people, compared to just 30
percent of Americans age 65 and older. - More than 40 percent of
Democrats say that messages about homosexuality coming from places of
worship are contributing "a lot" to higher rates of suicide among gay
and lesbian youth, compared to 17 percent of Republicans. - Over
40 percent of Americans give places of worship a D or an F grade when
it comes to handling the issue of homosexuality; only 16 percent give
them an A or a B. However, Americans rate their own places of worship
significantly higher: 45 percent give it an A or B, and only 17 percent
give it a grade of D or F. - White evangelicals are most
satisfied with their church's handling of homosexuality, with 75
percent giving it an A or a B. Catholics are the most critical, with
nearly a third—twice as many as any other group—giving their church a D
or F.
When responses were broken down
demographically, along with political divisions, the poll found that
women and younger Americans are more likely to approve of same-sex
relations, as well as agree with the view that messages from religious
bodies contribute to negative attitudes about gays and lesbians.
PRRI's
research director, Daniel Cox, said previous studies have found that
women, although more likely to attend services regularly and have
higher levels of religious commitment, are also more likely to have gay
friends. Young people, too, are more likely to know someone who is
openly gay. "Social relationships are one of the most important factors
in determining whether someone will be supportive of gay and lesbian
issues," Cox said.
Some faith leaders have modified their
messages in light of the growing gap between public opinion and
traditional religious teachings on homosexuality.
The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members poured millions of
dollars into passing California's 2008 ban on same-sex marriage, has
denounced antigay bullying, saying Mormons have a special
responsibility to be kind to minority groups due to their own history
of persecution.
But conservative culture warriors for whom
homosexuality is a defining issue insist that their message is needed
now more than ever.
"There is no contradiction between Christian
compassion and a call for holy living," Family Research Council
president Tony Perkins wrote recently in the Washington Post.
"But the life which is holy . . . or even healthy . . . requires
abstinence from homosexual conduct. We would do no one a favor if we
ceased to proclaim that truth."
The PRRI/RNS Religion News Poll
was based on telephone interviews with 1,010 U.S. adults between
October 14 and 17, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage
points. —RNS
