Survey: Strong Support Among Catholics for Marriage Equality

A survey of Catholics in the state of California shows that a significant percentage support marriage equality for gay and lesbian families, reported CatholicCulture.org on July 27.

The Public Religion Research Institute polled 3,000 Catholics in California on the question, and discovered that among Caucasian adherents of the faith, 37% were supportive of marriage rights for gays and lesbians, with Latino Catholics outstripping that number and weighing in at 44% in favor of full family parity. Conversely, 41% of Caucasian Catholics favored civil unions--while among Latinos, support fell to 28%.

"Only 22% of white Catholics and 23% of Latino Catholics oppose the legal recognition of homosexual unions," the site reported, going on to note that opposition to marriage parity for gay and lesbian families was higher among Protestants.

"Protestants are much more likely to hear about homosexuality from their clergy than Catholics," the article quoted the report as noting, with less than a third (29%) of Catholic Caucasians and less than half (42%) of Catholic Latinos saying that their clergymen talked about the issue.

The site went on to quote a 2003 statement from the church's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which declared, ""All Catholics are obliged to oppose the legal recognition of homosexual unions."

Church teaching holds that GLBTs are due the same respect and dignity as heterosexuals, and that they do not "choose" their sexuality. However, the church also teaches that GLBTs are "disordered" with respect to sexuality and relationships, and proclaims that sexual expressions of affection, commitment, and intimacy between consenting adults of the same gender are "inherently evil." The church believes that God "calls" gays to live celibate lives, and church officials have denounced gay and lesbian parents as inflicting "violence" onto their own children simply by raising them in loving homes with single-sex parents.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith went on to assert that, "Legal recognition of homosexual unions or placing them on the same level as marriage would mean not only the approval of deviant behavior, with the consequence of making it a model in present-day society, but would also obscure basic values which belong to the common inheritance of humanity."

The Catholic church joined the Mormon church in supporting the successful 2008 effort to rescind the then-existing legal right of gay and lesbian California families to enter into wedlock. The revocation of that right took place with the passage of a ballot initiative, Proposition 8, which was approved by a narrow majority of voters after a harrowing and deeply divisive campaign.

The survey results were part of a broad overview of Californians' beliefs and views regarding full family parity. The Public Religion Research Institute report "Religion and Same-sex Marriage in California: A New Look at Attitudes and Values Two Years After Proposition 8," which was released July 21, noted that individuals with a higher degree of education were more likely to support marriage parity for gay and lesbian families. The report also noted that, "A significant number of Californians who initially say the support civil unions but not same-sex marriage are willing to support marriage equality it the law addresses either of two basic concerns about religious marriage." One concern involved churches being compelled to perform marriages for same-sex couples; the report said that if the law were to guarantee that no such mandate were put into effect, and churches were free to refuse same-sex couples, full marriage parity would enjoy greater support.

The other point concerned "civil marriages," as opposed to "religious marriages," with the report noting that, "when Californians are presented with an assurance that the law 'only provided for civil marriages like you get at city hall,' more than half of Californians who initially supported only civil unions are willing to support marriage equality."

More broadly, the report also found that, "More than two-thirds (67%) of Californians believe that gay and lesbian relationships should be accepted by society, compared to [30%] who disagree."

Catholic Bishop: 'Confusion About Sexuality' to Blame

The larger context was overlooked by anti-gay religious site LifeSiteNews, which reported on the survey July 27. LifeSiteNews quoted Sacramento-based Catholic bishop Jaime Soto as blaming "confusion about sexuality in general" for the widespread support among Catholics of the rights of gay and lesbian families. The article pointed to survey results showing that a quite different attitude prevailed among Evangelical Protestants, where 17% of Caucasians and 18% of Latinos supported marriage equality.

The site also noted that the survey did not differentiate between Catholic respondents who were regular churchgoers as opposed to those who do not attend religious services weekly, and quoted Soto as speculating that many Catholics "are more affected by the trends or the mentality of the prevailing culture than they are by Catholic culture."

Soto also made reference to the so-called ":Bradley effect," in which voters will tell polls one thing and then vote in opposition to their statements. "Many people are going to, how should I say, simply lie about what their true thinking is... because they don't want to be labeled as a bigot or intolerant," Soto told LifeSite news.

Soto added that Californians were feeling "intimidated" by gays because of the "anger that has come out" after the marriage rights of sexual minorities were stripped away at the ballot box, and told the site that, "Particularly in the environment that we're in right now, the proponents of same-sex marriage have been vociferous in terms of labeling anyone who supports traditional marriage as a bigot or as intolerant."

Soto suggested that the church needed a PR campaign to reaffirm the "faith identity" of Catholics and return them to compliance with the teachings of the church. "And that's an important disposition for Catholics to have: to realize that their faith is not an imposition either on themselves or on others, but that their faith is a gift, and that it makes common sense and serves the common good," said Soto. "So I think that's a message that has to be repeated over and over again."

Soto also denied that the Catholic church is "the 'no' church," adding, "We say yes to the culture of life, yes to human dignity, and that's what we promote."

The response at conservative chat site FreeRepublic.com--where gay news is followed and discussed obsessively--was also narrowly focused.

"The founders warned us about foreign nation based religions," posted one chat participant, while another proposed the explanation, "The survey did not distinguish real Catholics from CINOs," a reference to "Catholic in Name Only," a pejorative used by conservative Catholics to deny the authenticity of the faith of more progressive Catholics.

Posted one chat participant, "Believe me, who call themselves Catholic and who are adherents to the true Catholic Faith are vastly different groups of people. As an example someone I knew lonnnng ago told me she was Catholic but argued that the Holy Eucharist was a symbol of Christ and nothing more. I recently connected with her on Facebook after many years and she is still listing herself as Catholic (and probably telling survey-takers she's Catholic as well)."

Wrote another, "They must be refering [sic] to pseudo-catholics."

Another took aim at the church itself, writing, "That was always the problem growing up Catholic. The bible was always on the back burner. You only heard what the church wanted you to hear if it fit their needs."

Others simply denied the veracity of the survey. "I don't believe this poll....not one bit...." wrote one. Another posted the comment, "It would be scary, if true. I'm guessing it is not even close."

Wrote another, "If you do a little googling on the outfit which did this poll it's an eye opener. The founder is affiliated with the extreme liberal, 'People for the American Way', and many other left wing outfits. This is a classic 'push-poll'," continued the posting. "Have any of the Catholics out there ever heard of this 'Catholic- culture.org who published the story? Is it affiliated with the church in any way or is it just another bunch of liberals calling themselves Catholic?"

"Excellent point!" exclaimed another. "To attack the church, the liberal media likes to include phony pretend Catholics in their surveys. That is, lapsed "Madonna-style" Catholics - Democratic, libertine, divorce happy, pro-abortion, dope-smoking feminists."