A recent study from the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute, found that 47% of LGBTQ adults surveryed identified as either moderately or highly religious.
What We Know:
- The study, which examined nearly 16,000 participants using data from the Gallup Daily Tracking Survey, aims to assess religiosity among LGBT people in the United States and provide information about their sociodemographic characteristics. The study found that LGBTQ community members who were older, Black, or lived in the South were the most likely to be religious.
- The survey questions were asked in order to determine degrees of religiosity. Those participants who deemed religion as an unimportant part of their daily life and claimed to never or seldom attended services were categorized as “not religious” and made up 53% of the results.
- Participants who responded that religion was important, even if they attended services less than once a month, were classified as “moderately religious”. Additionally, respondents who claimed they attend services weekly, even if they said religion was not important in their lives, were also labeled as moderate. Moderately religious participants made up 27% of the results.
- Respondents who answered that religion played a significant role in their daily lives and attend service regularly were labeled as “highly religious,” and made up 20% of the data. Religiosity was highest in the 64 and older age group; nearly two-thirds, 65%, were moderately or highly religious.
- The report states that the 5.3 million religious LGBTQ adults in America “are found across the age spectrum, in every racial-ethnic group, among married and single people, among those who are parenting, and among rural and urban dwellers.”
- The lead author of the report , Kerith J. Conron, raised doubts about the levels of religiosity in future generations, stating that his “hypothesis is that fewer and fewer people in young adulthood are choosing religion. It’s a pattern we see in non-LGBT people, as well.” He added, “People are consciously deciding to step away from the religion of their youth because it doesn’t embrace their values.”
As religious institutions begin to slowly progress in accepting LQBTQ community members within their practices, we may begin to see a slower decrease in religiosity. However, the past oppression and exclusion by these religious groups will almost certainly lead to a decline in membership.
