U.S. Catholics Overwhelmingly Reject LGBT Discrimination by State Legislatures

RuizNondiscrim.jpgMarriage equality’s legalization in the United States last year has prompted an anti-LGBT backlash at state and local levels. Bills ostensibly defending religious liberty  allow legal discrimination for opponents of equality. Conversely, ordinances to expand non-discrimination protections  for LGBT people face strong religious opposition. Where are Catholics amid these debates?

New polling from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) shows 73% of U.S. Catholics support LGBT nondiscrimination protections, two points higher than the 71% U.S. average. 61% of Catholics oppose allowing business owners to deny service to LGBT people. Even those opposed to marriage equality are far more approving of non-discrimination protections, according to PRRI CEO Robert P. Jones.

This widespread Catholic support for civil rights is driven by strong support from the lay faithful. For instance, James Rowe, a Catholic who is and the executive director of Believe Out Loud, said it is the mission of LGBTQ Christians and allies to “mobilize love” when anti-LGBT religious groups seek to institutionalize their discriminatory theologies. Rowe reflected on his own Catholic faith in view of South Dakota’s HB 1008 which would have mandated students use restrooms and locker rooms according to their assigned at birth sex:

“The very idea behind this harmful law is discrimination, plain and simple—and discrimination has no place in Christianity.

“My Catholic teachings tell me that Jesus stood in solidarity with those who are most often bullied and ostracized by others—and I believe today, Jesus would have been in Pierre, South Dakota, standing at the steps of the Capitol building demanding that Governor Daugaard veto this harmful bill.”

Believe Out Loud joined LGBT, educational, and civil liberties organizations in delivering 80,000 signatures opposing the bill, which was thankfully vetoed by the governor earlier this week.

Buzzfeed reported at least 105 similar pieces of legislation at the state level which seek to curtail civil rights rooted in sexual and/or gender identity, or allow the denial of services to LGBT people. None have yet passed, but there is momentum in at least eight states.

Unfortunately, the church’s leadership differs from the faithful, despite Catholic teachings which say every sign of unjust discrimination must be opposed. South Dakota’s bishops, Robert Gruss of Rapid City and Paul Swain of Sioux Falls, released a letter expressing their support for HB 1008. Religious leaders’ opposition and legislators’ questionable coupling of Church and State can create a belief that LGBT and religious belief are at odds with one another in these debates. It is a frequent refrain here at Bondings 2.0 that Catholics support LGBT justice because of their faith and not in spite of it.

Mychal Copeland, who co-edited Struggling in Good Faith, an interfaith anthology about LGBTQI inclusion, challenges the idea that LGBT justice and religious belief are at odds.  In Copeland suggested that currently “every American religious tradition is engaged in a struggle about LGBT inclusion” and there are changes happening, even if quite slowly. He continued:

“[T]here is a prevailing assumption that individuals will hold anti-LGBT religious doctrine above other religious ideals. More and more religious leaders and lay people are prizing overarching principles of faith, such as compassion, love, dignity, and welcome over negative religious legislation. . .Americans are more likely to see that [LGBT] individual as someone who should be able to rent an apartment, keep a job, and even marry the one they love.”

Church teaching does not allow for discrimination, meaning it should be unthinkable that Catholics would support any “right to discriminate” bills or oppose nondiscrimination protections. Sadly, this is not the case. If church teaching does not suffice, then perhaps we need to appeal to the deeper love expected of Christians by Jesus. It is Jesus’ kind of love which led early Christian writer Tertullian to note how his pagan contemporaries said, “See how those Christians love one another.” Catholics are certainly supportive of LGBT communities because of this love, but we must keep working to ensure that our church and our Christian faith are not used any further to deny the civil rights due to LGBT communities.

–Bob Shine, New Ways Ministry

0 replies
  1. amagjuka
    amagjuka says:

    I think this is two issues: religious liberty (power0 in the political realm and injustice. The church is using outdated strategies In an attempt to retain political power and autonomy. They do not want to come out “in favor” of LGBT rights since the old tenets of the church are decidedly anti-gay. Church leaders are totally aware that American Catholics oppose injustice and want the church to get on the right side of history. But fear keeps them from doing this. They site “cultural differences” in places like Uganda, where there is a zeal for “death to gays” laws. They are far from accepting LGBT people as full citizens. The church is afraid that if they embrace LGBT equality, they will lose credibility in the countries where they are trying to grow. They hope that the American Catholic faithful will “understand” that the church needs to retain political power, and will overlook the refusal to speak out for LGBT rights. But for many, this is a deal breaker. We cannot abide our church using our faith as a way to marginalize, isolate and harm a group of people. We cannot allow the church to make LGBT people collateral damage so that political power can be retained. Justice is more important.

    Reply
  2. Bishop Carlos Florido, osf
    Bishop Carlos Florido, osf says:

    Lay Catholics are much less concerned about power than many in the Church hierarchy. “Spirituality is a path to the Divine, religion [has become] crowd control.”

    Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] in the United States have repeatedly proven to be among the most LGBT- supportive religious believers, and Catholic politicians like Governor McAuliffe who have done much to advance LGBT rights in […]

  2. […] such legislation despite some bishops’ problematic support for these bills. Data from the Public Religion Research Institute revealed 61% of U.S. Catholics opposed allowing business owners to deny services to LGBT people […]

  3. […] church should be “fully supportive” of people who transition. Catholics in the U.S. overwhelmingly support transgender protections in law and historically Catholic nations have led global progress to […]

  4. […] Source: U.S. Catholics Overwhelmingly Reject LGBT Discrimination by State Legislatures | Bondings 2.0 […]

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