Gay & Lesbian Issues
Survey Shows Overwhelming Support for Transgender Americans
[11.04.2011]Transgender issues have been in the news quite a bit recently, from September’s controversy over Chaz Bono’s appearance on Dancing with the Stars to the Girl Scouts of Colorado’s choice to accept Bobby Montoya, a 7-year-old transgender child who had previously been turned away. A new survey from Public Religion Research Institute shows that two-thirds of Americans report feeling well-informed about transgender issues, and importantly, most Americans are able to… more
Presbyterian Church Ordains First Openly Gay Pastor
[10.12.2011]The newly re-ordained Rev. Scott Anderson of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) resigned as pastor of his California church in 1990 after telling his congregants that he was gay. More than 20 years later, on Saturday October 8, he was welcomed back into the ministry as the denomination’s first openly gay pastor, several months after the Presbyterian national assembly decided to remove language from the church constitution that required clergy to… more
Millennials Leave Their Churches Over Science, Lesbian & Gay Issues
[10.06.2011]Churches are worried, and with good reason. A new study from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research released last week reported that over the past decade, America’s congregations have lost members and suffered a decrease in “spiritual vitality,” brought on, in part, by ageing congregations. And the Barna Group, a Christian-affiliated polling organization, recently completed a five-year project which has morphed into a book called You Lost Me: Why Young… more
Will Catholics Take Action on Same-Sex Marriage?
[09.27.2011]Over the past few weeks, two of the most influential figures in the global Catholic hierarchy spoke out, urging Catholics to join together in the moral struggle against same-sex marriage. Pope Benedict XVI, in a much-publicized trip to his homeland, Germany, identified same-sex marriage as a critical threat, not just to the integrity of Catholicism, but to Christianity as a whole. Closer to home, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York… more
Gay Soldier Booed at GOP Debate: What Will Independent Voters Think?
[09.23.2011]Although the Republican candidates are making sure that there are enough zingers to make the frequency of the primary debates more tolerable than they otherwise would be (thank you, Gary Johnson), the audience has also sparked comment in the past two debates. First, there were cheers after a question about whether an uninsured man should be allowed to die. Then the audience made news again last night, when a handful… more
Our Corner | The New Majority in the Same-Sex Marriage Debate
[05.20.2011]In case you missed it, here’s an excerpt from my new post over at Huffington Post: When public opinion is moving quickly on an issue, corroboration is king. We now have no less than four reputable national public opinion surveys in three months showing a slim majority of Americans now support allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. Looking at the current convergence of polls, past trends, and current support… more
PRRI in the News | “For Catholics, Open Attitudes on Gay Issues”
[04.22.2011]Austin Considine posted a new article over at the New York Times today, in which he cites the portrait on Catholic attitudes on gay and lesbian issues we released last month. Check it out: Last month, the Public Religion Research Institute, a nonprofit group, reported that 74 percent of American Catholics surveyed supported the rights of same-sex couples to marry or form civil unions (43 percent and 31 percent, respectively)…. more
“A Pastoral Letter Regarding Bullying and Suicide”
[01.27.2011]In the wake of the recent string of teen suicides, the Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), drafted a letter to the church calling on its members to stand up against bullying. In the letter, she cited the October PRRI/RNS Religion News Survey, conducted by Public Religion Research Institute in partnership with the Religion News Service. Dear Disciples, The wave of… more
Despite Struggle in the Senate, Americans Clearly in Favor of Repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
[09.21.2010]Amid the political wrangling over the Defense Authorization Bill today that centers on the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, as well as enacting the DREAM Act, we are reminded that Americans are decidedly in favor of allowing gay and lesbian people to serve openly in the military. A report PRRI released last month that analyzed over two decades of polling by Pew Research Center on gay and lesbian issues… more
Analysis of Gay & Lesbian Issues Polling by Pew Research Center
[08.20.2010]Today PRRI hosted a discussion of our new report analyzing more than two decades of polling by Pew Research Center on attitudes about lesbian and gay people, related public policy issues, and religion. The new comprehensive report by PRRI reviews the entire history of polling by the Pew Research Center on the issue of homosexuality and gay rights since 1987. It examines shifting public attitudes on same-sex marriage, civil unions,… more