A significant percentage of gay men and lesbians belong to a certain
religion, but few are practicing that religion, a recent survey has revealed.
More than six out of 10 (63.7%) respondents to the 2002-2003 Gay/Lesbian
Consumer Online Census said they are affiliated with a particular religion; 38%
said they are practicing members. The largest segment is Catholics (17.2%),
although only 29.5% of those members said they are practicing. Six percent of
respondents say they are atheists, and almost a third (30.3%) said they have no
religious preference.
With 8,831 respondents, the census is the largest and most comprehensive GLBT
consumer study ever conducted. Prepared by GLCensus Partners (Syracuse
University and OpusComm Group), the annual study fills the growing need among
manufacturers and service providers for detailed information on consumer
behavior and preferences of GLBT people. Of those respondents who answered both
questions, there are 11 religions with 200 or more members. Among these, the
highest percentage of those saying they are practicing members of their
respective religions are: Pagan (84.6%), Metropolitan Community Church (79.4%),
Unitarian (66.7%), Episcopal (57.6%), and Jewish (47.5%).
"The gap of those who practice their religion versus those who don't
appears to vary based on how various religious sects are perceived of as being
more embracing of the GLBT community than those which are not," comments
Jeffrey Garber, president of OpusComm Group Inc. and founder of the GLCensus
Partners study.
"In the last two years of conducting the GLCensus, the results to the
series of religious questions have not changed," explains Amy Falkner of
Syracuse University, lead researcher on the project. "Perhaps, given the
recent Supreme Court decision and the election in the Episcopal Church, GLBT
people may feel safer and more welcomed in expressing their respective
religious beliefs. Our new study may reflect some changes due to this political
and cultural shift."