A strong majority of the public disapproves of the Episcopal Church's decision to recognize the blessing of same-sex unions, and a larger share of churchgoing Americans would object if their own faith adopted a similar practice, according to a new Washington Post poll.
So broad and deep is this opposition that half of all Americans who regularly attend worship services say they would leave their current church if their minister blessed gay couples, even if their denomination officially approved those ceremonies, the survey found.
As courts, companies and congregations nationwide consider what standing to give gay couples, the poll demonstrates strong public disapproval of any religious sanctioning of same-sex relationships.
Church vs. state
It underscores the sharp distinction most Americans make between relationships blessed by the church and those recognized by the law.
"Americans are saying, 'We're willing to move pretty far on this issue, we're much more tolerant than we used to be, but don't mix it up with religion and God,' " said Boston College political scientist Alan Wolfe, director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life.
Opposition to blessing gay unions is strongest among Americans who attend church weekly, the Post poll found. Three out of four frequent churchgoers opposed the Episcopal convention's decision, and a similar proportion said they would object if their own faith took a similar step. But even among those who acknowledged that they rarely or never attended church, nearly six in 10 objected to blessing gay couples.
Julio Rincon, 28, an infrequent churchgoer in Albany, N.Y., said he wouldn't mind if a gay couple registered a civil union "down at City Hall." But, he said, "I do have a problem if it were to take place in a church."
The poll also found, however, that public acceptance of same-sex civil unions is falling. Fewer than four in 10, or 37 percent, of all Americans say they would support a law allowing gay men and lesbians to form civil unions that would provide some of the rights and legal protections of marriage.
That is a precipitous, 12-point drop in support found in a Gallup Organization survey that posed the question in identical terms in May, before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Texas law against sodomy and Justice Antonin Scalia argued in his dissent that the court was on a slippery slope toward legalizing gay marriage.
Other surveys have found, however, that some opponents of same-sex civil unions would tolerate extending marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples. A recent survey by the Human Rights Campaign found that 33 percent supported granting civil marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples "as long as churches do not have to recognize or perform these marriages." An additional 17 percent would accept extending those rights to gay couples but "do not support it." Nearly half, 47 percent, said they were opposed.
The Post's survey interviewed 1,003 randomly selected Americans Aug. 7-11, including 420 who said they attended church services at least once a week. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the overall sample and 5 percentage points for the results among frequent churchgoers.
The survey found that 60 percent of all Americans opposed last week's decision by the Episcopal Church's general convention to give its bishops the option of allowing the blessing of same-sex relationships in their dioceses. Thirty-three percent favored the decision, and 7 percent were unsure. Nearly two in three respondents who attended church at least a few times a year said they would object if leaders of their own faith took similar action.
Evangelicals adamant
Opposition to the Episcopalians' decision is strongest among evangelical Christians, the survey found. More than eight in 10 rejected blessing gay unions, and two out of three said they would abandon their home church if it began performing commitment ceremonies for homosexual couples.
"If my local church blessed gay unions and (the decision) was not movable, I definitely would leave," said Sue Tegtmeier, 51, of Sumner, Iowa, who is a member of the Vineyard, an evangelical group.
Among Americans who attend church at least a few times a year, 47 percent said they would attend services elsewhere if their church blessed same-sex unions. An equal number said they would not leave.