The polls by the Pew Forum for Religion and Public Life provided crucial background to why North American Anglicans have been among those leading the cause for homosexual rights — and why they’re at loggerheads with evangelicals. The Pew Forum polls also helped explain the headline-making vote last week by a solid majority of Episcopalians (as Anglicans are known in the U.S.) to formally allow the ordination of homosexuals.
The issue had been disturbing some of the world’s 75 million Anglicans since 2003, when openly gay cleric Gene Robinson was elected the Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire.
The Pew Forum found seven out of 10 U.S. Episcopalians/Anglicans believe society should accept homosexuality as a way of life.
That compares to only 50 per cent support among the general U.S. population.
Wonder what the stats would show if “White Evangelicals” were not tendentiously separated from Blacks?
And how is “prone to psychiatric disorders” defined as “hate speech?” It is the kind of thing that can be a) argued statistically and b) even argued as evidence of the need for greater acceptance if it is in fact the case. More evidence of why “hate speech” laws are a suppression of thought.
I am not suggesting this but I can’t help but wonder if it would be considered hate speech if the Pew Forum had asked the respondents to this poll if they would identify themselves as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual or Heterosexual.
Has anyone written a book about the ‘Coming Persecuttion of Christians in the 21st Century”?
I wonder what the results would have been had the respondents not been fearful of being dragged into one of Canada’s “human rights” star chambers because of heterodox opinions.
What does the poll mean by “acceptance” of homosexuality? I accept, and have, homosexual neighbors, fellow church members (at least when I was an Episcopalian). Occassionaly, I have homosexual customers in my small business and, possibly, homosexual associates in some of the organizations where I sit on the board.
And were I not to “accept” these people, per the poll question, what would that mean? Would I join tar and feather, and other “hate” groups, boycott certain businesses, refuse to sell to homosexuals? Would I resign my memberships, help some evangelical crusade to convert these people to hetrosexuality? I don’t do these things. I try, as do millions, to treat everyone fair and square, take them as I must and as I find them. Does this mean I “accept” homosexuality, am “tolerant” of it? According to the poll, as far as I can tell, I’m an “accepter.”
On the other hand, on the life-and-death side of the ledger, will I do everything in my power to keep the gay life-style away from my family? Will I leave churches where the gay life style is equated to any other, where gays assume positions of authority and teaching? Deep inside, do I recoil from the thought that, at this rate of speed, my male grandchildren, or their children, might become effiminate, or become attracted to males who are? Do I believe that gay orientation threatens the survival of the family lines, that young minds are susceptable to the homosexual cultural pressures exerted upon them? Do I believe H. has the potential to ruin marriages and families? I’ll answer “yes” to all these questions.
Why doesn’t the Pew Poll ask Canadians and Americans the above “money” questions about homosexuality? Then, I believe, we will have a more accurate picture of where the public stands, a more accurate view of how non-Evangelicals, Jews and non-Moslems feel. I suspect that how one reads the Bible, the Torah, or the Koran may have much less to do with views on homosexuality than the pollster claims. On the other hand, and this would be big news, maybe no one cares about the “money” questions any more! That would raise interesting issues about whither America and Canada!
[Comment deleted by Elf – intemperately expressed comment]
When i read comments here on factual articles, i am always reminded of a dear late great aunt of mine who firmly believed that evolution was wrong. I’d ask her about the fossils of dinos and she’d say, “My dear, God put those there to confound the wicked.” Some folks just prefer to not be bothered with the facts. Nice they have a little corner here all their own.
I used to work for a very large health insurance company in customer service. It was not uncommon to get calls regarding mental health claims not covered because the diagnoses code was invalid. The code was homosexuality which hasn’t been a valid mental health diagnoses sense 1973. The FACT is a lot of people want healing. Why hasn’t there been a study regarding all the people who are not allowed to pursue healing of there homosexuality because they are unable to find a health care provider to treat them. And when they do, their insurance wont cover it. Most of the persons I spoke to who wanted to be healed of their disorder were not even religious. Which is probably a good thing because our church would rather believe in ambiguous studies and bs-science than the Word of God.