(CP) – A majority of Protestant pastors in the United States still disapprove of same-sex relationships, but the overall approval has grown largely due to mainline pastors, a new study by LifeWay Research reveals. Only about 8 percent of self-identified evangelical Protestant pastors say they have no issues with same-sex marriage, and their percentage has remained the same since 2010, according to a new survey by the Nashville-based research group.
1 Timothy 4:1-2 – “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,”
However, support among self-identified mainline Protestant pastors for same-sex marriage has jumped from a third (32 percent) in 2010 to almost half (47 percent) in 2020. The study suggests that Presbyterian or Reformed (49 percent), Methodist (47 percent), Lutheran (35 percent) and Christian/Church of Christ pastors (20 percent) are more likely to see nothing wrong with same-sex marriage than Baptist (3 percent) or Pentecostal pastors (1 percent).
2 Thessalonians 2:3 – “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition”,
Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research, says the data should be interpreted cautiously. “The stability in the views of evangelical pastors means either there has been no growth in acceptance of same-sex marriage among them or the pastors that no longer have moral reservations about it no longer identify as evangelical.” READ MORE
