How the Triumph of LGBTQ+ Activism Has Negatively Impacted the Church by Michael L. Brown for Ask Dr Brown
American culture has changed dramatically in the last thirty years. Before that time, Christianity was generally respected by the society while homosexuality was disdained. Today, the tables have turned to the point that almost anything LGBTQ+ is celebrated while the Church is largely denigrated. In short, if gay is good, the Church is bad. This is another reason why many have left the Church, especially among the younger generation.
Consider American views on same-sex “marriage.”
Gallup first began polling American views on this in 1996, at which point 27 percent of the public supported legalizing same-sex unions. In 2022, the number rose to 72 percent.
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This is an unprecedented shift in public opinion. But it is not surprising in light of the fact that: 1) so many Americans have friends, relatives, or loved ones who identify as gay; 2) President Obama endorsed gay “marriage” in 2012; 3) the Supreme Court redefined marriage in 2015; 4) the media has been bombarding us with gay-positive stories for the last few decades.
Had the Gallup poll been conducted in 1986, let alone in 1976 or 1966, support for same-sex “marriage” would have been a fraction of what it is today. But even dating back to 1996, the shift in opinion has been absolutely dramatic, from 27 percent support to 72 percent.
And what, according to Gallup, is the one group of people still opposing same-sex “marriage”? It is “Americans who report that they attend church weekly” who “remain the primary demographic holdout against gay marriage, with 40% in favor and 58% opposed.”
We are now the bad guys, the opposition, the ones standing in the way of progress, the small-minded, Bible-thumping bigots, the people who say Yes to religion and No to love.
That is how much of the world perceives us today, especially the younger generation which has grown up in a very different world than did previous generations.
In the not-too-distant past, Americans were proud to identify as Christians and ashamed to identify as gays or lesbians. How the tables have turned!
Today, Christians and Christian beliefs are openly mocked and ridiculed, while day in and day out, we hear about gay and lesbian and bi and trans pride, sometimes for weeks on end, almost wherever we turn – especially in June!
Back in 1997, there was lots of controversy when Ellen Degeneres, playing a TV character named Ellen, came out as lesbian, first as the character and then in real life. Ellen? Really? Today, you would be hard pressed to find a major TV show that doesn’t have an LGBTQ+ character, while Ellen herself reigned for years as queen of daytime TV.
Even cartoons and children’s shows feature LGBTQ+ characters and themes, while the number of gay or bi or trans superheroes grows every year. Talk about a massive cultural shift. America has never seen anything like it before.
