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Societal Inputs, Religious Outputs, and Young Adults: A Cross-Cohort Analysis of Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Relations and Civil Liberties for Gays and Lesbians

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Review of Religious Research

Abstract

Background

Within an open systems theorization, the degree to which religious identity and attendance at religious services influence attitudes toward same-sex relations and civil liberties for gays and lesbians will be shaped by how religious groups respond to societal inputs over time. In recent decades, while some Christian denominations in the United States have remained resolute in their condemnatory stance on these issues, the religious outputs of others have become more tolerant. A cross-cohort examination of the influence of religious identity and attendance at religious services on such attitudes can help uncover effects of this interplay over time.

Purpose

The present study tests the significance of religious identity and attendance at religious services on attitudes toward same-sex relations and civil liberties for gays and lesbians, comparing young adults across the Baby Boomer, Generation X, and Millennial cohorts. The uniqueness of the study is twofold: (1) Cross-cohort analyses are used to compare young adults within a single study rather than examining each cohort in isolation, and (2) the analyses are contextualized within an open systems framework.

Methods

Data from the General Social Survey are used to examine the significance of religious identity and attendance at religious services on the attitudes of young adults (ages 20–37) toward moral acceptance of same-sex relations and civil liberties of gays and lesbians. Multiple linear regression analyses are used to test for significant differences across three birth cohorts, controlling for relevant sociodemographics.

Results

The analyses demonstrate cross-cohort change in the significance of religious identity on attitudes about the morality of same-sex relations and the civil liberties of gays and lesbians, while attendance at services is consistently a strong predictor across the generations. Of particular interest, among Millennial young adults, unlike previous generations, the evangelical Protestant identity does not affect attitudes about civil liberties for gays and lesbians.

Conclusions and Implications

The findings suggest the importance of examining the interplay of religious outputs and societal inputs and how these dynamics influence public opinion over time. This study reveals a need for increased research into how societal inputs have shifted the output of religious organizations, not just toward gays and lesbians, but also other sexual and gender minorities.

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Notes

  1. Throughout the paper, we use the term “same-sex relations” to represent “sexual relations between two adults of the same sex,” in line with the GSS survey data used in our analyses.

  2. We use the term “gay and lesbian” throughout the paper in line with the GSS survey data used in the analysis.

  3. As closely as sample sizes allow, we follow the age range of 18–40 assigned by scholars to Erikson’s (1950/1993) stage of young adulthood, the period in which people are forming intimate and committed relationships.

  4. Although the GSS specifically refers to the civil rights of a gay man, we extend the measures to include lesbians, as previous research has done (e.g., Kenneavy 2012; Loftus 2001).

  5. Religious traditions such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and smaller Protestant groups, were not included in the analysis as the GSS did not collect this information until 1998. Please refer to Steensland et al. (2000) for specific denominations in each religious category. We follow Sherkat (2001) in coding “sectarian Protestants.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Anthropology, & Social Work, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL, United States

    M. N. Barringer

  2. School of History and Social Sciences, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA, United States

    B. Savage

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Correspondence to M. N. Barringer.

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Barringer, M.N., Savage, B. Societal Inputs, Religious Outputs, and Young Adults: A Cross-Cohort Analysis of Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Relations and Civil Liberties for Gays and Lesbians. Rev Relig Res 64, 301–323 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-022-00484-3

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