Relign and Acceptance of Gays | Psychology Today

Contents:

• RELIGN AND ACCEPTANCE OF GAYS
• WHERE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, OTHER RELIGNS STAND ON GAY MARRIAGE
• SECTN 2: KNOWG GAYS AND LBIANS, RELIG CONFLICTS, BELIEFS ABOUT HOMOSEXUALY
• 3 OTHER CHRISTIAN DENOMATNS THAT ALLOW GAY MARRIAGE
• WHAT RELIGNS REJECT GAY PEOPLE?

RELIGN AND ACCEPTANCE OF GAYS

Dpe major chang laws and norms surroundg the issue of same-sex marriage and the rights of LGBT people around the world, public opn on the acceptance of homosexualy society remas sharply divid by untry, regn and enomic velopment.

The data may unr-state acceptance of homosexualy (bee the data is om 2007), but 1) parisons of groups to recent on same-sex marriage suggt that the change is small, and 2) the relative differenc between relig groups remas the same.

The graph shows that public agreement wh the Supreme Court was mon among groups that have large majori of members who believe that homosexualy should be accepted. Uned Methodists allow LGBT Christians to be members but “self-avowed practicg homosexuals” nnot be clergy, and same-sex marriage nnot be performed. My clients and my rearch rponnts who are eher lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr (LGBT) or love someone who is, have shared wh me the paful nflicts they face as they fear that their relign will not allow them to accept their children or themselv.

WHERE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, OTHER RELIGNS STAND ON GAY MARRIAGE

This quote reflects the fears and ncerns for many of the parents terviewed for my book Comg Out, Comg Home: Helpg Fai Adjt to a Lbian or Gay Child ().

Consirg that the Catholic Church and members of fundamentalist Christian church and Jewish tradns have been the most outspoken opponents of gay rights, is perhaps not surprisg that LGBT people and their fai intify relign as a major obstacle acceptg homosexualy and transgenr inti, eher themselv or a fay member. In addn to s admonn agast homosexualy, Levic also has passag that perm fathers to sell their dghters to slavery (21:7), prohib men om shavg their beards (19:27), and ll for the ath of anyone who works on the Sabbath (Exod.

Th people who claim to adhere strictly to the Bible and e s teachgs to jtify nyg lbians and gays their rights are arbrarily selectg certa teachgs to follow while ignorg others. There are many—cludg Unarian and Epispalian church as well as acceptg and affirmg offshoots of tradnal religns such as Digny (for gay Catholics).

SECTN 2: KNOWG GAYS AND LBIANS, RELIG CONFLICTS, BELIEFS ABOUT HOMOSEXUALY

Acrdg to a 2019 Pew Rearch Center analysis, 26 percent of Amerins intify as agnostic, atheist or “nothg particular, ” up om 17 percent jt a Sharon Klebm, of Congregatn Be Simchat Torah, New York’s LGBTQ synagogue, said the barriers gay people face when participatg their fah have only started to fall.

“There’s been progrs, but I al wh people all the time om liberal relig fai who have faced horrible bigotry and rejectn, ” she, she add, the hunger for spirualy is ep among gay people — perhaps even eper than among the larger populatn. 5 percent intify as Jewish and 2 percent as the percentage of gay Amerins who intify as part of any fah tradn is still nsirably lower than the general populatn, of which 67 percent is relig, acrdg to a 2017 Gallup LGBTQ Black Amerins, the most likely mographic to be relig (over 70 percent), still lag behd Black people the general populatn: More than 82 percent are relig. If you have not, we enurage you to read through PFLAG’s gui lled “Fah Our Fai: Parents, Fai, and Friends Talk About Relig and Homosexualy”:.

3 OTHER CHRISTIAN DENOMATNS THAT ALLOW GAY MARRIAGE

The Supreme Court lg earlier this year legalizg same-sex marriage natnwi has ntued to raise qutns about how the cisn will affect relig groups – pecially those that rema opposed to allowg gay and lbian upl to wed.

) (not to be nfed wh the Prbyterian Church Ameri, which oppos same-sex marriage) and the Epispal Church have wrtled wh the issue for years, often as part of a larger bate on the role of gays and lbians the church. Schaefer’s se has spl the church, wh some clergy floutg the l and marryg same-sex upl and other, more nservative members threateng to leave if the church do not hold to s current l prohibg gay marriage.

Overall, a solid majory of whe male Prottants (62%) now favor allowg gays and lbians to wed, wh jt 33% opposed, acrdg to a 2015 Pew Rearch Center survey. Unfortunately, for many lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer (LGBTQ) dividuals, their relign of upbrgg n be ls than welg of their same-sex attractn or non-cisgenr inty.

WHAT RELIGNS REJECT GAY PEOPLE?

However, non-affirmg relig beliefs about same-sex attractn or genr inty (and siarly non-LGBT iendly ngregatns) n actually exacerbate mory strs, specifilly ternalized homophobia, which self is associated wh creased suicidal thoughts. For while most LGBTQ Amerins have been raised an anized relign — and many ntue to cherish their fah muny — too many have been forced to leave those muni behd bee of nmnatn of lbian, gay and bisexual people.

Though the vast majory of Amerins say they know gays or lbians, jt over a quarter (28%) say they know “a lot” of people who are gay or lbian, while 43% say they know some and 17% say they only know one or two gays or lbians. While large majori of almost all mographic and partisan groups say they know someone who is gay or lbian, there are differenc both the number of gay and lbian acquatanc people have and whether people say they have close fay members or iends who are gay.

Millennials are among the most likely of any mographic or partisan group to say they know a lot of people who are gay or lbian: Nearly four--ten (38%) say so, pared wh fewer Gen Xers (28%), Boomers (22%) and Silents (15%). Millennials and Xers are also somewhat more likely than Boomers – and particularly Silents – to say they have close fay members or iends who are gay.