Research from Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) suggests that many churchgoers are in the closet regarding their support for marriage equality. Being a supporter of this and the LGBT community in general might not seem like a very big deal to some, but to others it can mean the difference between being an outcast and being a welcome member of a family, and what is a church if not a massive family.

Homosexuality is considered a sin in some belief systems, though more and more religious individuals are starting to change their minds about what it means to be a true believer with respect to their views on the subject. One of the biggest obstacles of church members having an open and honest discussion about the LGBT community is the assumption that other churchgoers have a negative view of it.

According to PRRI, roughly seventy-five percent of Catholics are under the impression that other Catholics don’t agree with the idea of marriage equality. What’s interesting about this statistic is the fact that churchgoers are recorded as regularly overestimating the degree to which other parishioners indeed disapprove. In fact, members of the Catholic church are statistically more likely to have a favorable view when compared to the public at large.

This all may seem very odd considering the Catholic Church fought from the pulpit for years against LGBT rights. With this new research, it appears that their efforts to curtail the rights of gays and lesbians were being pushed forth against the conscience of many of their members. If true change is to be made in how the public perceives the opinions of religious individuals when it comes to gay rights, open and honest discussions have to start not with the public, but inside of the church, churches like Universal Life Church.

Coming Out of the Closet and Into the Church

While many folks view their respective churches as safe places, or even second homes, some gay people regard the church and religion and general with disdain due to past experiences of rejection, moral disapproval, and perhaps hypocrisy (how often is the verse from Leviticus quoted barring men from being with other men while the other Mosaic Laws are broken by church members without even so much as the raise of an eyebrow?). Not only that, but one-third of Millennials have admitted to leaving the faith in which they were brought up because of how the church perceives the LGBT community (or more precisely, how it seems to perceive them). Rather than bringing the next generation closer to religion and helping to convince them to get ordained, teach Sunday school, or join the worship team, churches seem to be doing the exact opposite.

It is said that we have to be the change that we want to see in the world, and that is undoubtedly true when it comes to how the church wants the world to change its collective opinion about religion. Before they can start this conversation with anyone else, church members have to talk with each other. They have to look into the mirror and see themselves as the world sees them, as the gay community sees them.

One concept that many people are still struggling with is the idea that being gay and being religious are not mutually exclusive. LGBT rights need not be a wedge issue, and we see that with many congregations like the ULC embracing equality of all members. Churches can take a lesson from the gay community and truly come out of the closet about how they feel about marriage equality and LGBT rights.