Homosexuality and American Religion
Protesters outside of a Mormon Temple
Homosexuals exhibit a complex relationship with denominations with the most American followers. Views of homosexuals range in terms of the state of homosexuality, homosexuals rights within the church, and what consists of sinful acts for a homosexual. Religious views of homosexuals have strong implications for their political standing within the United States of America.
A 2008 LifeWay Research study shed some light on the relationship between Christianity and homosexuality. 48% of Americans surveyed viewed homosexuality as a sin, while 45% did not. Protestants and Born again/evangelical/fundamentalist Christians skewed towards viewing homosexuality as sinful, with ratios of viewing as sinful/non-sinful at 61%/31% and 79%/17% respectively. Catholics, who only view homosexual acts as sinful and not the actual state of homosexuality to be sinful, polled more moderately than other groups. 55% said homosexuality was not a sin, while 39% did. (1)
One of the easiest ways to examine the relationship between religion, homosexuality, and politics is which churches sided for and against 2008's Proposition 8 in California to ban gay marriage. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, whose members are known as Mormons, was a huge supporter of the measure. ProtectMarriage, the lead organization in support of the ban on gay marriage, determined that roughly half of the contributions they received came from LDS sources, and "eighty to ninety percent" of door to door petitioners were Mormon (2). The Roman Catholic Church was also a staunch supporter of the measure (3), while all six Californian Episcopal Dioceses (4) in addition to a larger number of Jewish groups opposed the measure. In fact, in Los Angeles, Jews represented the ethnic/religious group most opposed to Proposition 8, with 78% voting against the measure (5).
As a country of many active religious groups, it is no surprise that homosexuality and religion have developed a strong and complex relationship in America. Often intertwining with American politics, religion has proven to be an important factor in both halting and advancing homosexual standing in our nation.
A 2008 LifeWay Research study shed some light on the relationship between Christianity and homosexuality. 48% of Americans surveyed viewed homosexuality as a sin, while 45% did not. Protestants and Born again/evangelical/fundamentalist Christians skewed towards viewing homosexuality as sinful, with ratios of viewing as sinful/non-sinful at 61%/31% and 79%/17% respectively. Catholics, who only view homosexual acts as sinful and not the actual state of homosexuality to be sinful, polled more moderately than other groups. 55% said homosexuality was not a sin, while 39% did. (1)
One of the easiest ways to examine the relationship between religion, homosexuality, and politics is which churches sided for and against 2008's Proposition 8 in California to ban gay marriage. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, whose members are known as Mormons, was a huge supporter of the measure. ProtectMarriage, the lead organization in support of the ban on gay marriage, determined that roughly half of the contributions they received came from LDS sources, and "eighty to ninety percent" of door to door petitioners were Mormon (2). The Roman Catholic Church was also a staunch supporter of the measure (3), while all six Californian Episcopal Dioceses (4) in addition to a larger number of Jewish groups opposed the measure. In fact, in Los Angeles, Jews represented the ethnic/religious group most opposed to Proposition 8, with 78% voting against the measure (5).
As a country of many active religious groups, it is no surprise that homosexuality and religion have developed a strong and complex relationship in America. Often intertwining with American politics, religion has proven to be an important factor in both halting and advancing homosexual standing in our nation.
