Survey: Major Shift in Catholic Support for Same Sex Marriage; Millennials Leaving Church Over Anti-Gay Positions

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The Roman Catholic Church may be growing in ignorant, uneducated parts of the world such as Africa, but in America the Church's anti-gay teachings are being increasingly ignored by American Catholics and more tellingly, the Millennial generation is walking away from the Church in record numbers. According to a new survey, even among Hispanics - the demographic which has helped mask the Church's real membership decline - the majority support same sex relationships.   Also tellingly, the Church is seen as among the most anti-gay religious denominations.  Here are highlights from the Catholic Free Press:

58 percent of white Catholics and 56 percent of Hispanic Catholics now favor same-sex marriage. This is up 22 percentage points from 2003, when only 35 percent of Catholics overall supported same-sex marriage.   Among American Catholics who said they attend Mass weekly, opinions were more divided, with 45 percent of Mass-going Catholics in favor of same-sex marriage.

[A] majority of American Catholics surveyed said they were aware that their view contradicted church teaching.

Catholics also widely supported other legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals. Seventy-three percent said they would support laws preventing job discrimination against gays and lesbians.

According to the survey, more so than any other religious group, the Catholic Church is perceived as “unfriendly” to LGBT individuals. Fifty-eight percent of Americans polled think that the Catholic Church is unfriendly to those who identify as LGBT. Fifty-five percent of Catholics polled were just as likely to believe this is true. Among LGBT individuals themselves, two-thirds, or 73 percent, perceive that the Catholic Church is unfriendly to them.

The poll may offer insight into the shifting demographics of the Catholic Church. According to the poll, 70 percent of American millennials say religious groups are alienating people over LGBT issues; 59 percent of U.S. Catholic millennials said they agreed.

Among millennials who said they no longer identified with their childhood religion, about one-third, or 31 percent, said that negative teachings about, or treatment of, gay and lesbian people were a factor in their disaffiliation from religion.

The Church may be growing in backward parts of the world but financial support still relies on modern western nations, which America and Germany being the largest financial supporters.  As millennials increasingly leave the Church, sooner or later the Vatican is going to face real financial pain.