Gay and religion

The first is Americans’ religious attendance, a behavioral indicator based on how frequently respondents attend worship services, ranging from  “never” to “more than once a week.” For ease of presentation, responses are grouped at the low end (Never/Seldom) and the high end (Weekly or more).

The second measure is support for Christian nationalism, a political-theological worldview that asserts Christianity should play a central role in American public life.

This has led to significant challenges reported by many SGMs, which encompass a range of experiences—from facing rejection and discrimination on a personal level to enduring attempts to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The prevailing psychological narrative concerning the intersection of religiousness or spirituality with LGBTQ+ lives has often similarly centered around the recurring themes of oppression and conflict.

LGBTQ+ and Religion/Spirituality: A Complex and Nuanced Relationship

Traditionally, psychologists have drawn on conflict and stress frameworks, including cognitive dissonance theory, which was introduced by Leon Festinger in 1957, as well as minority stress theory pioneered by Brewster et al.

Policies related to transgender rights, particularly medical care for minors and ID laws, receive the least support overall, even among those otherwise inclined toward inclusion. Where gaps do emerge, they are narrower, typically between 7 and 27 percentage points (Panel B in Figure 2).

To sum up, support for same-sex marriage generates the widest divides across both measures of religiosity, reinforcing its symbolic weight in cultural discourse.

Support for Christian nationalism is a much stronger predictor of opposition to LGBTQ inclusion than religious attendance. Religion/Spirituality, Stress, and Resilience Among Sexual and Gender Minorities: The Religious/Spiritual Stress and Resilience Model. Ancient Hindu texts contain references to diverse expressions of gender and sexuality:

• The Kama Sutra: This ancient Sanskrit text on love and relationships discusses same-sex attraction and behaviors.

  Second, LGBTQ-related policies are not viewed uniformly.

  Across all five issues, Christian nationalism Adherents are consistently and significantly less likely to express inclusive views than Rejecters (Panel A in Figure 1), with gaps ranging from 12 to 47 percentage points depending on the policy (Panel B in Figure 1). Others suggest these passages reflect specific cultural concerns rather than universal prohibitions.

Christian denominations differ widely in their approach to LGBTQ+ issues.

By contrast, nondiscrimination laws enjoy high levels of support across most religious categories, suggesting a baseline consensus around fairness in public life. Buddhism

Buddhism’s teachings focus on reducing suffering and achieving enlightenment rather than prescribing specific rules about sexuality. Additionally, my analysis is limited to self-identified Christians in order to examine variation within the country’s largest religious tradition.

Key Patterns in the Data

The results of this analysis point to two main takeaways that underscore the need for nuance when discussing the association between religion and LGBTQ rights.

First, the effect of the role of religion depends on how it is understood.

On the other hand, Christians who support Christian nationalist ideals express much greater resistance.

Understanding this distinction is crucial. Indigenous Beliefs and Traditions

Indigenous cultures worldwide often hold more fluid and inclusive views on gender and sexuality:

• Two-Spirit Identities: Among many Native American tribes, Two-Spirit people are revered as embodying both masculine and feminine qualities.

  These divides are particularly stark on issues that are symbolically charged, such as same-sex marriage and transgender rights, where the ideological stakes are perceived to challenge traditional or conservative Christian norms around identity and morality.

  Religious attendance, by contrast, shows a weaker and more inconsistent relationship.

  Our findings hold even after controlling for age and other demographic traits.