For
my Junior Theme, I am exploring the decline in religion among the millennial
generation. One answer to this question I have learned about is that the
millennial generation supports gay and lesbian rights more than any other
generation that has come before it. According to a study from the Public
Religion Research Institute, thanks to the millennials, 2011 is the first time
in history that supporting gay marriage was not a minority position. This group
is also the most unaffiliated group religiously for their age, at 25 percent
unaffiliated (Pew Research Center).
This
connection between religion and gay rights is a pressing one in today’s news.
Mississippi just passed a “religious freedom” law, which allows business owners
to use their religion as a legal defense in a court of law if sued by a
costumer. This means that if a customer was refused service or harshly treated
for their sexual orientation, that said business owner could defend himself in
saying it was because their religion doesn’t support gay rights.
I
believe that this type of disdain towards gay rights that is often connected to
religion has caused there to be a decline in practice of religion with this
younger generation. This is because if people now accept those around them the
way they are, they don’t want their religious institutions to say that it’s not
okay to be the that way. Obviously this is not a direct connection because not
all religious institutions are against gay rights, but the fact that the
support for gay rights rises as the practice in religion declines, I think it’s
safe to say that there is a correlation.
No comments:
Post a Comment