Monday, June 29, 2009

Similarities in Religious Belief Between Straights and Gays

A new poll found that, in general, gays and lesbians hold very similar religious beliefs with their straight counterparts. Although there are some significant differences in belief between the two populations, the Barna Group, a conservative evangelical polling firm, found that many religious assumptions about gays are, in fact, unsubstantiated. Saith George Barna:
“People who portray gay adults as godless, hedonistic, Christian bashers are not working with the facts,” declared the best-selling author of numerous books about faith and culture. “A substantial majority of gays cite their faith as a central facet of their life, consider themselves to be Christian, and claim to have some type of meaningful personal commitment to Jesus Christ active in their life today.
[...]
“Although there are clearly some substantial differences in the religious beliefs and practices of the straight and gay populations, there may be less of a spiritual gap between straights and gays than many Americans would assume.”

I'm not surprised at all with the results of this study, but I am shocked that there was even a need to commission the poll. Responding to these results, one ReligiousDespatches contributor, a lesbian, while offering strong criticism to the analysis, says, "Well, duh."

2 comments:

Matt F. said...

Damn it! As a straight, hedonistic, atheist, Christian basher, I have lost a segment of the population I considered allies. Just kidding, of course.

Anonymous said...

Cool blog you got here. I'd like to read more about that theme.
BTW check the design I've made myself Russian escort