Staggering number of young people leave religion over gay rights
New
survey finds at least a third of US adults 18-34 left religion over
'negative teachings and treatments' towards the LGBTI community
Photo by Scott Nunn.
A staggering number of young people have left their religion over the negative treatment of gays, a new survey has found.
While it is widely recognized younger people
are more likely to be atheist than their elders, this is one of the
first surveys to ask why Americans under 34 are less religious.
Released today by the Public Religion
Research, it found nearly one third of millenials left the faith as they
grew up because of ‘negative teachings’ or ‘negative treatment’ related
to gays and lesbians.
‘While many churches and people in the pews
have been moving away from their opposition to LGBT rights over the last
decade, this new research provides further evidence that negative
teachings on this issue have hurt churches’ ability to attract and
retain young people,’ PRRI CEO Robert P. Jones said.
17% of US adults aged 18 and 33 said
negativity around LGBTI issues in religion was ‘somewhat important’ to
their departure, while 14% said it was a ‘very important’ factor.
Over half of Americans, 58%, say religious
groups are ‘alienating young adults by being too judgmental on gay and
lesbian issues’.
Among younger people, that statistic jumps to 70%.
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