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Press Release - 'Do Christians Really Oppose Gay Marriage?'
18 April 13
A YouGov poll commissioned for the Westminster Faith Debate on same-sex marriage this Thursday finds that half of all religious people in Britain are now in favour of allowing same-sex marriage, and that those who identify as Anglican and Catholic now support it by a small margin.
New poll finds many Christians ignoring Church leaders on same-sex marriage
A YouGov poll commissioned for the Westminster Faith Debate on same-sex marriage this Thursday finds that half of all religious people in Britain are now in favour of allowing same-sex marriage, and that those who identify as Anglican and Catholic now support it by a small margin.
Christian support for same-sex marriage
Despite the churches’ official opposition to gay marriage, British Christians who identify as Anglican, Catholic or Presbyterian are now in favour of allowing same-sex marriage by a small margin (Table 1 - appendix).
Amongst active churchgoers, support for allowing same-sex marriage is slightly lower, but still high. Forty percent of Anglicans are in favour and 47% against. Forty-two percent of Catholics are in favour, 48% against (Table 3- appendix).
Overall, all those people who identify with a religion, Christian or otherwise (excluding ‘don’t knows’), are now evenly split on allowing same-sex couples to marry – 43% for and 43% against (Table 1 - appendix). On the different but related question of whether same-sex marriage is right, religious people are somewhat more opposed (Table 2 - appendix).
The more you believe in God, the less you support same-sex marriage
The section of religious people most opposed to same-sex marriage is made up of those who both (a) believe in God with certainty and (b) make decisions primarily on the basis of explicit religious sources – God, scriptures, teachings and religious leaders.
This ‘moral minority’ of strict believers amounts to almost 9% of the population, and is spread across religious traditions, with a greater concentration among Baptists and Muslims.
The correlations are striking:
Table A “Do you believe in a God or some ‘higher power’”? - and attitudes to SSM
|
Do you think same-sex couples should or should not be allowed to get married? |
Believe there is definitely a God (26% of population) |
Believe there is probably a God (23% of population) |
Believe there is probably NOT a God (16% of population) |
Believe there is definitely NOT a God (19% of population) |
Don't know if there is a God (17% of population) |
|
Should |
38 |
51 |
63 |
66 |
50 |
|
Should NOT |
48 |
38 |
27 |
22 |
25 |
|
Don't know |
14 |
11 |
10 |
12 |
25 |
Table B “Which, if any, of the following do you rely on MOST for guidance as you live your life and make decisions?” – and attitudes to SSM
|
Do you think same-sex couples should or should not be allowed to get married? |
Own reason (41% of popn) |
Own intuition (22% of popn) |
Family (13% of popn) |
God (6% of popn) |
Friends (3% of popn) |
Religious teachings (2% of popn) |
Science (2% of popn) |
Deceased loved ones (1% of popn) |
Religious leaders (<0.5% of popn) |
Religious group (<0.5% of popn) |
|
Should |
56 |
57 |
58 |
32 |
64 |
34 |
65 |
53 |
27 |
22 |
|
Should not |
32 |
31 |
30 |
54 |
25 |
56 |
26 |
37 |
67 |
58 |
|
Don’t know |
11 |
12 |
12 |
14 |
11 |
10 |
9 |
10 |
7 |
20 |
Muslims and Baptists are the most opposed to allowing same-sex marriage; Jews, Hindus and those of ‘No Religion’ the least opposed
Those who identify as Muslim and Baptist are most opposed to allowing same-sex marriage, whilst Jews, Hindus and those who say they have ‘no religion’ are most in favour of allowing it (Table 1 - appendix).
This can be explained by the higher proportions of those who believe in God with certainty and take authority from religious sources amongst Baptists and Muslims.
Actively practising a religion makes a difference
Amongst those who currently engage in a religious activity, 41% are in favour of allowing same-sex marriage and 46% are against. Amongst the non-practising, 54% are in favour and 31% are against.
Amongst Anglicans, 47% of active churchgoers are against allowing same-sex marriage and 40% are in favour. Amongst non-churchgoers opinion is more equally balanced: 44% are in favour of allowing ssm and 43% against. The biggest difference is between churchgoing and non-churchgoing Anglicans and the small number (7%) of strict Anglicans who both believe definitely in God and take their authority from religious sources, 65% of whom oppose same-sex marriage.
Overall, age, religion and gender are the most important predictors of opposition to Same-sex marriage
The most important predictors of opposition to SSM are:
1.Age (17% of 18-24yr olds are against allowing SSM, compared with 53% of those aged 60 and over)
2.Believing that there is definitely a God (Table A)
3.Gender (40% of men are against allowing SSM, compared with 27% of women)
4.Being guided most by God or other religious sources (Table B).
Christians who support same-sex marriage do so because they believe in equality and faithful love; Christians who oppose it do so because they believe in traditional marriage, family, and gender-roles
The most common reasons given by Christians who say gay marriage is RIGHT are that:
- “People should be treated equally whatever their sexual orientation” (77%)
The next most common is:
- “Faithful love is the heart of marriage and it is not exclusive to heterosexual couples” (70%)
The most common reasons given by Christians who say gay marriage is WRONG are that:
- “Marriage should be between a man and a woman” (79%)
The next most common is:
- “It undermines the traditional family structure of a mother and father” (63%)
Churches are widely perceived as unwelcoming to gay and lesbian people.
Despite the fact that half of all Christians who express an opinion are in favour of same-sex marriage, when asked if churches are welcoming to gay, lesbian and bisexual people only 21% of the public think they are, a proportion which falls to 17% amongst 18-24 olds.
Most churches claim to welcome everyone irrespective of sexual orientation. They are clearly not getting this message across. Some Christians, even from more conservative evangelical churches, are concerned about this. The Revd Steve Chalke, a prominent Baptist Minister, who will be taking place in the Debate on Thursday comments that: “the noise of the arguments around gay marriage are clouding the real question for the Church: The nature of inclusion.”*
* Article and video available at www.oasisuk.org
Appendix
Table 1 Do you think same-sex marriage should be allowed? Adherents
|
Do you think same-sex couples should or should not be allowed to get married? |
ALL |
No religion |
Ang-lican |
Roman Catholic |
Presby-trerian |
Meth-odist |
Baptist |
Jewish |
Hindu |
Islam / Muslim |
Sikh |
Religion TOTAL |
|
Should |
52 |
69 |
44 |
44 |
49 |
32 |
40 |
52 |
55 |
29 |
35 |
43 |
|
Should NOT |
34 |
20 |
43 |
41 |
44 |
45 |
50 |
38 |
26 |
59 |
35 |
43 |
|
Don't know |
14 |
11 |
14 |
15 |
7 |
23 |
11 |
10 |
19 |
12 |
30 |
14 |
Table 2 Do you think same-sex marriage is right or wrong? Adherents
|
Do you think same-sex marriage is right or wrong? |
ALL |
No religion |
Ang-lican |
Roman Catholic |
Presby-trerian |
Meth-odist |
Baptist |
Jewish |
Hindu |
Islam / Muslim |
Sikh |
Religion TOTAL |
|
Right |
46 |
63 |
38 |
36 |
37 |
27 |
22 |
46 |
44 |
23 |
28 |
37 |
|
Wrong |
34 |
20 |
43 |
44 |
44 |
43 |
55 |
38 |
31 |
64 |
54 |
44 |
|
Don't know |
20 |
17 |
19 |
20 |
18 |
29 |
24 |
16 |
25 |
13 |
19 |
20 |
Table 3 Do you think same-sex marriage should be allowed? Currently attend church, participate in a religious group or community
|
Do you think same-sex couples should or should not be allowed to get married? |
Roman Catholic |
Anglican |
Church of Scotland |
Methodist/ baptist |
Pente-costal |
Jewish |
Muslim / Islamic |
Hindu |
Buddhist |
Sikh |
None |
|
Should |
42 |
40 |
54 |
31 |
29 |
46 |
28 |
63 |
95 |
25 |
57 |
|
Should NOT |
48 |
47 |
37 |
52 |
65 |
45 |
58 |
19 |
5 |
45 |
32 |
|
Don't know |
10 |
14 |
9 |
17 |
6 |
9 |
14 |
18 |
0 |
30 |
11 |
NOTES
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
Sample sizes (top line weighted, bottom line unweighted) Total 4437
|
None |
Ang-lican |
Roman Catholic |
Presby-trerian |
Meth-odist |
Baptist |
Jewish |
Hindu |
Islam / Muslim |
Sikh |
Other |
Prefer not to say |
|
1630 |
1519 |
391 |
108 |
121 |
60 |
82 |
48 |
106 |
24 |
100 |
207 |
|
1649 |
1261 |
354 |
90 |
96 |
58 |
162 |
92 |
201 |
49 |
185 |
192 |
Fieldwork was undertaken between 25th - 30th January 2013 and predated the Second Reading debate in the House of Commons of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill. The Bill has now completed the Committee stage in the Commons (12 March) and awaits a date for Report and Third Reading before passing to the House of Lords.
Those we refer to in this briefing as ‘religious’ are those who identified with one of the following major religions or denominations e.g. Anglican, Roman Catholic, Hindu. Those we call ‘non-religious’ are those who answered ‘none’ to the same question about identification.
The Westminster Faith debates are organised by Charles Clarke and Linda Woodhead and supported by Lancaster University, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council. They are designed to bring high-quality academic research on religion into public debate. http://www.religionandsociety.org.uk/faith_debates-2013/
Linda Woodhead is Professor of Sociology of Religion at Lancaster University and Director of the £12m national ‘Religion and Society Programme’ funded by two UK research councils, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council. http://religionandsociety.org.uk/
Contact:
Linda Woodhead
07764 566090
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