c. 2003 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ Religious beliefs and personal experience are the two biggest factors shaping Americans’ attitudes toward homosexuality and the volatile issue of gay marriage, according to a new poll released Tuesday (Nov. 18).

The poll, conducted in mid-October by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, was released the same day as Massachusetts’ highest court ruled that denying civil marriage to gays and lesbians violates the state’s constitution. The court gave the legislature 180 days to find ways for homosexuals to marry.

The Pew poll found that 59 percent of Americans oppose gay marriage, but the percentage was significantly higher _ 80 percent _ among people who frequently attend church services and describe themselves as “highly religious.”

Evangelicals were most strongly opposed to the idea of gay marriage, and were also the most likely to hear homosexuality denounced from the pulpit. Among evangelicals, 80 percent oppose gay marriage, compared to 54 percent of mainline Protestants and 55 percent of Catholics.

Opposition to gay marriage was up since July, when pollsters last asked the question. In the July poll, 71 percent of highly religious respondents opposed gay marriages. Those who supported it dropped from 21 percent in July to just 12 percent.

Scott Keeter, associate director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, said the change might mean that churches, particularly evangelical churches, have mobilized their members to more strongly oppose gay marriage.

Evangelicals, such as Southern Baptists and Pentecostals, are generally theologically conservative, while mainline churches, such as Presbyterians, Lutherans and Methodists, tend to be more theologically and socially liberal.

Homosexuality and religion dominated headlines throughout the summer as the Episcopal Church elected, and later confirmed and consecrated, the Rev. V. Gene Robinson as an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire.

In July, the Vatican issued a statement saying there are “absolutely no grounds” to support gay marriage, while the U.S. Supreme Court voted in June to strike down sodomy laws.

A majority of Americans _ 55 percent _ said homosexual behavior is a sin, a view shared most strongly by “highly committed white evangelicals” (88 percent), black Protestants (74 percent) and “committed” Catholics (64 percent).

Sixty-eight percent of evangelicals said homosexuality was frequently discussed in their churches, compared to only 33 percent of mainline Protestants and 49 percent of Catholics.

The poll found that 59 percent of evangelicals heard discouraging references to gays in church, and only 1 percent heard accepting references. Eight percent classified the gay references as “no position” or “other.”

Thirteen percent of mainline Protestants heard discouraging gay references in church, while 4 percent heard accepting references. More than a quarter _ 28 percent _ of Catholics heard negative references, while 3 percent heard positive ones.

The poll also showed that when gay issues arise in church, parishioners tend to absorb what they are told.

More than half _ 55 percent _ of evangelicals whose clergy talk about gays report a “very unfavorable” view of gay men, while those whose clergy do not discuss gays reported only a 32 percent very unfavorable view.

Among mainline Protestants and Catholics, 28 percent of people who heard about gay issues in church reported very unfavorable views of gay men, while only 18 percent of those who did not hear gay issues discussed in church said they held very unfavorable views.

Although most evangelicals do not support homosexuality, 60 percent said they feel comfortable around gay people, compared to three-quarters of the general population. Highly religious white evangelicals reported the most discomfort with gay people, at 34 percent.

Keeter said the widespread support and comfort around gays could be indicative of Americans’ increasing contact with gay issues _ the poll found that 60 percent of Americans have a gay friend, family member or co-worker.

In a society brimming with stereotypical portrayals of gays in the media, Keeter said a personal relationship is essential to truly understanding the gay community. “To know people is to like them,” he said.

E.J. Dionne Jr., co-chair of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, said more openly gay clergy have a variety of effects on their churches, and elevating them to venerable positions often results in a backlash among conservatives who fear they will be forced to change their stance on gay issues within their denominations, he said.

But, Dionne added, “admirable people always benefit the communities they represent.”

The poll was based on the results of a survey of 1,515 adults conducted Oct. 15-19. It has a sampling error of between 3 and 4 percentage points.

KRE END GABRIEL