A new study states that, overall, acceptance of gay and lesbian people has been on a steady increase. The National Congregations Study, released by Duke University, shows that from 2006 to 2012, the number of congregations accepting gay and lesbian members increased from 37.4 percent to 48 percent. Additionally, the number of congregations open to gay or lesbian volunteer leadership also rose about 18 percent.
One interesting finding was that support among Roman Catholic parishes actually declined over that same period. The Associated Press spoke with several people, who named a few possible factors. The first possibility was that the survey was taken while Benedict was still Pope, who took a very different tone than Pope Francis' "Who am I to judge" comment. Another is that today's younger Roman Catholic priesthood tend to be more theologically conservative. A third is that during 2011 and 2012, the Roman Catholic hierarchy was leading several campaigns opposing marriage equality.
However, the overall trend in places of worship is for greater openness and somewhat increased leadership positions for gay and lesbian people. This was especially true in white protestant churches. Many of these denominations have a formal welcoming congregational program. These programs work with congregations to craft a formal statement of welcome that includes people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. From 2006 to 2012, the number of these congregations rose dramatically.
Additionally, this time period is when some large protestant denominations, including The Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Presbyterian Church (USA), adopted policies to more formally accept LGBT people in their communities.
Additionally, the study found that congregations are becoming more racially diverse, prefer more informal worship, and that overall congregation size is decreasing.
The findings are available online now and will be published in the December 2014 issue of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. The study is taken from interviews with representatives of 1,331 American churches, mosques, temples, synagogues and other houses of worship.