Now that certain mainline Protestant denominations have decided to ordain homosexual ministers and publicly affirm same sex unions, we have to ask, what do the people sitting in the pews of these denominations really think about certain facets of morality about which there used to be a Christian consensus?
Like adultery. Does the word even mean the same thing for same-sex and opposite sex marriages? What about premarital sex?
Mark Regnerus is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. He says, “Integrating homosexual relationships into Christian moral systems is not simple.” To say that’s even possible when you define Christian as biblically faithful is a stretch. But let’s go with Dr. Regnerus, since he conducted a comprehensive study in early 2014. It’s called the Relationships in America survey. He interviewed 15,378 Americans ages 18-60. For the purpose of this question, he restricted his analysis to people who defined themselves as churchgoing Christians.
These people were separated into categories according to whether they supported or opposed same sex marriage and asked about various practices. The survey found that 33 percent of the same-sex marriage supporters think viewing pornography is OK. Compared with those who oppose same sex marriage, that’s seven times as many approving porn use. Three times as many of those who support same sex marriage think it’s fine to cohabit with a lover before marriage. Thirty-seven percent of the same sex marriage supporters approve cohabitation.
And Dr. Regnerus found six times as many same sex marriage backers are “OK with no-strings-attached sex, five times as many think adultery could be permissible, thirteen times as many have no problem with polyamorous relationships, and six times as many support abortion rights.”
Mark Regnerus concludes that self-professed churchgoing Christians who support same sex marriage look very much like the rest of the country in terms of these questions of sexual morality. But mainline pews are still filled with folks who oppose same sex marriage and these behaviors.
The churchgoers who are homosexuals and lesbians themselves were more in favor of all these behaviors but not as supportive as gays and lesbians outside the church. Forty-nine percent of self-professed gay churchgoing Christians think no-strings attached sex is ok. A whopping 80 percent of gay and lesbian non-Christians think so.
It’s encouraging to note that among evangelical denominations that adhere to Biblical orthodoxy, only 11 percent of survey participants under 40 actively expressed support for same sex marriage. Younger evangelicals were also much less likely to believe that cohabitation before marriage is a good idea. Five percent — compared with over 70 percent in the broader culture — think cohabitation is OK.
Believing saint, we can sink our teeth into these results. Voices within the Church say society’s cultural erosion is unstoppable and we shouldn’t bother opposing it. But we can defend and advance principles close to God’s heart — and we should.