Despite what Catholic bishops like Thomas J. Tobin are saying, the real Catholics -- the rank and file who sit in the pews, do the volunteer work and write all the checks -- support same sex marriage, and do so more strongly than Americans overall. A May 2011 survey by Public Religion Research Institute found that 56 percent of Catholics favor allowing gays and lesbians to marry, compared to 51 percent in the general population. A March 2011 ABC/Washington Post poll found 60 percent of Catholics support marriage for same-sex couples, compared to 53 percent of the general population. No other major religious group supports same sex marriage more vigorously than Catholics.
And I always thought that Ellen was exaggerating when she said that she didn't know of a single student in her Catholic high school who didn't support same sex marriage.
Anyway, here are the results from the Public Religion Research Institute poll:
I wish the bishops would quit teaching as doctrines the precepts of men. It just gives the rest of us Catholics a bad name.
