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The chart above summarizes a new report by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center on official attitudes towards same-sex marriage held by major U.S. denominations. Another recent report by Pew discusses the hard-line anti-gay attitudes of most Evangelical church members, as shown below:
At its General Assembly in Detroit this week, The Presbyterian Church U.S.A., which already allows gays and lesbians to be ordained ministers, will consider resolutions to allow same-sex weddings in states where they are legal.
Update, 6/19: The Presbyterian General Assembly voted today 76%-24% to allow same-sex weddings.
The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life published the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey (PDF, 1.42 MB) in 2008, which offers a sweeping analysis of religious beliefs and denominational identification among American adults. A short summary of their findings is presented in this table:
And per the U.S. Census Bureau, it appears that adults make up 76.5% of the 2013 total population of 316,128,839. So you do the math.
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5 comments:
Would be nice to see how much of the population is represented by each denomination/unaffiliated. Also, not really a surprise to see how liberal a good number of Catholics are - in opposition to the party line.
It has surprised me in conversations with my Cajun Catholic friend M.P. to learn how liberal many Catholics are - growing up Protestant, I had assumed that you all obediently followed the Vatican line in lockstep, but apparently in the U.S. that's just not the case.
I've added a table and link that give some perspective on the numbers in each religious category, per your suggestion.
I'm sure it's not only in the US that Catholics pay lip service to the hierarchy; Italy, for sure, abounds with "Catholics" who are baptized, married and buried in the Church, but carry on private lives that may be "questionable". I would guess the same is true for Spain and Brazil ...and..;
Besides, half the priests don't buy the party line either - but, well, it's a comfortable living.
Yes, I've been enlightened from someone who has good reason to know about that very comfortable living, too - marble whirlpool baths in the rectory, maid service, all expenses paid, free car & gas, etc., etc. Not to mention what all goes on when they are "off duty" as it were. My, my, my.
Frank, while I have no illusions about the perfect state of grace of the average Catholic priest, to say it's a comfortable living is stretching it. They live for the most part lives of great simplicity, on pitiable salaries and in dreary rectories.
Yes the Presbyterians (one branch, the largest) - who will be next? I have not doubt many more will come along in due course.
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