October 09, 2007

Non-Christians Views of Christianity Deteriorating, Partially Due to Attitudes Toward Gays

The folks over at Box Turtle Bulletin quote a survey by the Barna Group which shows a deteriorating perception of Christians held by non-Christians:

Nine out of ten outsiders found Christians too “anti-homosexual,” and nearly as many perceived it as “hypocritical” and “judgmental.” Seventy-five percent found it “too involved in politics.”

Churchgoers of the same age share several of the non-Christians’ complaints about Christianity. For instance, 80% of the Christians polled picked “anti-homosexual” as a negative adjective describing Christianity today. And the view of 85% of non-Christians aged 16-29 that present day Christianity is “hypocritical — saying one thing doing another,” was, in fact, shared by 52% of Christians of the same age. Fifty percent found their own faith “too involved in politics.”

Here is a quote to remember from The Barna Group's David Kinnaman in an interview with Time Magazine regarding the relationship between anti-gay Christians and the GLBT community:

The two sides ought to have some respect for each other — and the responsibility should be on Christians to lead by example instead of just shouting at others through the ballot box or talk shows.

He went on to address the flawed approach of trying to reach GLBT people without establishing relationships with them

I have encountered numerous GLBT people who have shared their horror stories with churches and the people who populate them, experiences full of hatred and judgement and often devoid of Christ's love.

I spoke up during our church service last Sunday and said if I wasn't a Christian and was evaluatling the faith by the people who are so often the face of it in the media and public gatherings, I doubt very seriously I would want anything to do with it. I saw a lot of heads nodding and heard no voice of objection.

Folks, this is tragic. Seriously, this is a tragedy because lives are ruined and souls are lost because of this. How can Christians expect to lead people to Christ and fulfill the Great Commission if their words and actions repell people?

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is see ourselves as others do. For many people who portray themselves as Christians, a good look in the mirror is long overdue.

3 comments:

  1. If this is how non-Christians in general feel, imagine how non-Christian G/L people feel.

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  2. I think a lot about how this is slowly changing one person at a time. I can remember my mother moving from homosexuals being "unnatural" and "bad" to serving my long time college friend (who is gay) and his spouse first at Thanksgiving dinner and their being "the guests of honor!"

    Although many mainline churches are far more inclusive, the sheer numbers and noise of the fundamentalists carry the message "Gays not wanted." It puts the burden on inclusive churches to reach both GLBT and straight members that this perception is keeping them from church.

    Meanwhile, those of us in inclusive denominations struggle with the fact we are still not as inclusive as we might be. Aaagh

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  3. I do and don't agree with kirkepiscatoid-- I do think a lot is slowly changing, but there's still So Much Unpleasantness. And as long as we mainliners aren't willing to come straight (no pun intended) out and say, "We fully support our GLTB brothers and sisters," we're going to keep looking... well, hypocritical at best.

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