“Most people know and love someone who’s openly gay,” said Julie Rodgers, a Christian writer, activist and lesbian whose story is featured in the new documentary on Netflix, “Pray Away.” “It causes them to wrestle with the implication of teachings that say, ‘We’re bad and wrong and sinful.’ It creates a significant conflict for them in a way that (evangelical allegiance to) the Republican Party more broadly feels like an abstraction, and they don’t see the effect of that on human beings they know and love.” But among younger evangelicals, the church’s attitude on sexuality is emerging as one of the big causes for the decline. To be sure, evangelicals, like people of all faiths, leave church for many reasons: changing politics, shifting cultural tastes, spiritual restlessness. RELATED: Survey: White mainline Protestants outnumber white evangelicals, while ‘nones’ shrink Take same-sex marriage: While only one-third (34%) of white evangelicals age 50 and over favor same-sex marriage, 51% of younger white evangelicals ages 18-49 now favor it - a majority, another PRRI study found.
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Those leaving in the greatest numbers are younger evangelicals whose attitudes toward sexual minorities are starkly at odds with their elders. That’s causing many younger evangelicals - gay and straight - to question the integrity of their church’s theology and the consistency of its biblical interpretation.Īmid widespread acceptance of LGBTQ people, evangelical church attitudes toward the group have not budged, and the consequences have been dire.Ī study last month by the Public Religion Research Institute found the number of Americans who identify as white evangelicals has declined dramatically, from 23% in 2006 to 14.5% in 2020. They are not ordained or allowed to marry same-sex partners in the church. LGBTQ people are typically excluded from serving on church boards and from leading worship or other church groups.
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Gay sex position embracing full#
Stalker’s story is one shared by thousands of LGBTQ young people who grew up in evangelical churches that deny them full participation.