Almost a decade after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage across the country, most pastors remain opposed, and the supporting percentage isn’t growing any larger.
One in 5 US Protestant pastors (21%) say they see nothing flawed with two people of the identical gender getting married, based on a Lifeway Research study.
Three in 4 (75%) are opposed, including 69 percent who strongly disagree with same-sex marriage. Another 4 percent say they aren’t sure.
Previous Lifeway Research studies found growing support amongst pastors. In 2010, 15 percent of US Protestant pastors had no moral issues with the practice. The percentage in favor grew to 24 percent in 2019. Today, support is statistically unchanged at 21 percent.
“Debates proceed inside denominations at national and judicatory levels on the morality of same-sex marriage, yet the general variety of Protestant pastors who support same-sex marriage just isn’t growing,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “The previous growth was seen most clearly amongst mainline pastors, and that level didn’t rise in our latest survey.”
Pastors are barely more supportive of legal civil unions between two people of the identical gender, but most still disagree. Currently, 28 percent back such arrangements, statistically unchanged from the 32 percent in 2019 and 28 percent in 2018.
The previous growth in clergy support of same-sex marriages was driven by US mainline Protestant pastors. In 2010, a 3rd (32%) were in favor. By 2019, almost half (47%) saw nothing flawed. Current support amongst self-identified mainline pastors stays at similar levels (46%).
Evangelical pastors have been consistently against same-sex marriage. Fewer than 1 in 10 have expressed support for the practice since 2010. Today, 7 percent of self-identified US evangelical Protestant pastors say they see nothing flawed with two people of the identical gender getting married.
An identical divide exists regarding civil unions between two people of the identical gender. Most mainline pastors (54%) are supportive, while only 14 percent of evangelical pastors agree.
Methodists (53%), Presbyterian/Reformed (36%) and Lutherans (34%) usually tend to be supportive of same-sex marriage than Restorationist Movement (8%), non-denominational (5%), Baptist (4%) or Pentecostal (1%) pastors.
Additionally, female pastors (42%), who’re more common amongst mainline denominations, are way more likely than their male counterparts (16%) to back same-sex marriage.
Other demographic groups even have various degrees of support, though none as drastic because the denominational differences.
Younger pastors usually tend to be supportive than the oldest pastors. Protestant pastors 18 to 44 (27%) and 55 to 64 (22%) are more likely than pastors 65 and older (15%) to see nothing flawed with same-sex marriage.
“The moral and doctrinal beliefs of people don’t are likely to move fairly often or very far, so we wouldn’t expect pastors’ positions to vary much,” said McConnell. “However, the differences we see by age make it noteworthy that the upper numbers of young pastors seeing nothing flawed with same-sex marriage just isn’t yet having much of an impact on overall numbers.”
Those with more education are more supportive. Pastors with a master’s (30%) or doctoral degree (26%) are more likely than those with no college degree (9%) or a bachelor’s degree (7%) to say they’re OK with same-sex marriage.
Pastors within the Northeast (27%), where same-sex marriage was first legalized within the US, and the Midwest (25%), are more likely than those within the South (18%) to be supportive.
Those leading smaller churches usually tend to see nothing flawed with two people of the identical gender getting married. Pastors at churches with fewer than 50 in attendance (27%) and people at congregations of fifty to 99 (25%) are more likely than those at churches with attendance between 100 and 249 (11%) and 250 or more (8%) to be in favor of same-sex marriage.
“Because fewer pastors in mid- and large-size churches are open to same-sex marriage morally, an excellent larger majority of Protestant churchgoers are in churches wherein their pastor doesn’t support same-sex marriages or civil unions,” said McConnell.
Many of the differences between various forms of pastors exist for civil unions as well. Younger pastors usually tend to be supportive than older pastors. Pastors with more formal education usually tend to back civil unions.
Those within the Northeast and Midwest are likely to be more in favor than those within the South. Pastors on the smallest churches usually tend to see nothing flawed with civil unions between two people of the identical gender than those at larger churches.
