Yes, There Are A Lot More Gay Christians Than You Probably Think

While the number of Christians in America has dropped substantially in just seven years, the number of gay Christians seems to have jumped dramatically.

One of the top stories this week is the huge drop in the number of Americans who are willing to identify as Christian. From 2007 to 2014, that number dropped from 78.4 percent to just 70.6 percent, according to an extensive new survey just released by the Pew Research Center.

That drop applies across many demographics, including age and geography.

But one hidden portion of the survey reveals a staggering increase in the number of gay, lesbian, and bisexual Americans who now say they identify as Christian.

Nearly half of the LGB community, 48 percent, say they are Christian.

That’s a dramatic jump from a separate 2013 Pew survey, which placed the number at 42 percent, according to The Advocate.

(The 2013 survey was self-administered, whereas the 2014 survey was interviewer-administered. However, in one-on-one interviews pollsters generally find fewer people comfortable with saying they are gay.)

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The just-released survey also finds 41 percent of gay, lesbian, and bisexual Americans now say they are “religiously unaffiliated,” including eight percent who identify as atheist, nine percent as agnostic, and almost a full one-quarter of LGB respondents, 24 percent, who say “Nothing in particular.”

Matthew Vines, author of God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships, tells The Advocate, “it’s the 48 percent of LGBT Americans who are Christians who are best positioned to change both religious attitudes about same-sex marriage and secular attitudes about religion. As LGBT Christians continue to find their voice, they’ll be changing both their churches and the LGBT community for the better.”

 

Related:

There Are 5 Million Fewer Christians In America Today – Why That Should Terrify The GOP

Jeb Bush: If Elected, I Promise My Christian Faith Will Influence How I Govern (Video)

Pastor: Anti-Gay Bakers ‘Destroying America’ By Being Too Nice To ‘Some Faggot’ Wanting A Cake

 

Image by Misha Popovikj via Flickr and a CC license
Hat tip: The Advocate