Christian Leaders Are More Pro-LGBTQ Than Their Congregants

While some branches of Christianity are strongly associated with anti-LGBTQ values, their actual religious leaders might not be, and experts told Newsweek why that might be.

That's the latest news from a recent study from the Public Religion Research Institute, which surveyed more than 3,000 clergy who led congregations from the seven largest Protestant denominations.

The Christian leaders were overwhelmingly in favor of laws that protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people against discrimination in jobs, public accommodations and housing, with 90 percent supporting this across all denominations.

The slight variation in the data came down to the American Baptist Church clergy, who trailed a bit behind in their support at just 80 percent.

Still, the religious leaders were far more likely to support nondiscrimination laws for LGBTQ people than their own churchgoers, who only supported the protective laws at 71 percent.

Region also played a role when it came to the tendency of the Christian leaders to favor protections for the LGBTQ community—only 86 percent of rural clergy supported the laws compared to 93 and 95 percent of suburban and urban religious leaders respectively.

This may not be surprising since large communities of LGBTQ people tend to congregate in big cities.

It's potentially the case that the clergy in more populous areas are increasingly up close and personal with gay and lesbian churchgoers and community members, but it doesn't explain the contrast between the leaders and their congregations.

Gay Marriage Largely Supported By Christian Leaders

Taking it a step further, Christian leaders were also overwhelmingly likely to support same-sex marriage, with 79 percent in favor across all Protestant churches.

Slight differences were notable among the different branches—for example, the United Church of Christ supported gay marriage staunchly at 95 percent while only 72 percent of the United Methodist Church leaders did.

Perhaps most glaring of all the differences concerned the American Baptist Church once again, which only supported gay marriage at 39 percent.

Meanwhile, in what was still a decline from their own religious leaders, just 72 percent of Protestant churchgoers supported same-sex marriage, and only 52 percent of all American churchgoers were in favor.

The trend doesn't stop at just Protestants, though. Catholic priests likewise were more likely to say they were more liberal than their congregations.

A report from researchers at Duke University found only 28 percent of Catholic priests said their political views were about the same as a majority of their churchgoers.

Meanwhile, 53 percent firmly said they are more liberal than the majority of the congregation.

Exposure and Education May Play a Role

Experts in the field of religion and sociology have many theories for why Christian leaders differ so greatly from their parishioners in their level of LGBTQ support, and much of it could come down to exposure.

Michael Rea, a philosophy professor at the University of Notre Dame, told Newsweek that clergy are potentially more likely to trust biblical scholars on the interpretation of scripture and how it relates to the modern-day world than the everyday churchgoer.

"Clergy in mainline denominations are more likely than their parishioners to have theological and biblical training that makes them familiar with a wider range of interpretive options," he said.

Jacqueline Hidalgo, a professor of theology and religious studies at the University of San Diego, also said that Protestant clergy are far more likely to be college-educated from their congregations.

"General trends in the USA in the last decade suggest that those who are college-educated and hold professional degrees tend to affiliate with more liberal political positions in general, and they tend to be more liberal on questions of gender and sexuality in particular," Hidalgo told Newsweek.

While earning their theology degrees, soon-to-be religious leaders also come in contact with a wide range of LGBTQ activists working on grassroots campaigns.

But it could also be a sample bias, wherein those who choose a life of religious servitude are more tied to certain values that prompt greater support for LGBTQ communities, Hidalgo said.

"We might also consider the factors of empathy and humanistic concern that can compel many people to become clergy," Hidalgo said.