Ramen Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Apparently not. Evangelical Christians who have a friend or family member that is gay are 15% LESS supportive of gay marriage and acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle than those who don't know someone that is gay.Southerners with a gay acquaintance are about 12% LESS supportive of gay rights than those who don't have a gay acquaintance. Weird, huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twright21 Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 it's not necessarily exposure to gay people that really affects one's opinion on this matter. racism? i would say most definitely. i would think that many who are racist have had little contact with those of other races or what little contact they've had has been negative.also, the media today plays a big part in people's thoughts about homosexuality. we often associate things dealing with homosexuality with what we see on tv, and it gets separated from what we might see around us. you'd think that would produce a positive change because tv gives it it's own flair, but maybe what we see on tv overcomes personal experience. no telling.i have a fairly close family member who lived with another woman for 2-3 years. she was ostracized by many in the family. i told her that i disagreed with her choice, but i can still love her anyway. she eventually changed her life. now she's married and has 2 kids, and if you talk to her, she really can explain her life and discuss why she changed. she hasn't looked back since. of course, i was told by some on here that she wasn't "really" gay, and i can't use it as an example. good thing they must be the only ones to know who the true gays are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etifan Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Interesting! Do you know who sponsored the study? I would like to read about it in more detail. One would think putting a face to the issue would bring out more compassion. My family is conservative Christian and I am the *only* person who will acknowledge that a cousin is gay. I'm the only one he can talk to about his relationships. It's bizarre. The family is split between two large cities, so it's not as though they're sheltered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramen Posted December 13, 2007 Author Share Posted December 13, 2007 etifan (12/13/2007)Interesting! Do you know who sponsored the study? I would like to read about it in more detail. One would think putting a face to the issue would bring out more compassion. My family is conservative Christian and I am the *only* person who will acknowledge that a cousin is gay. I'm the only one he can talk to about his relationships. It's bizarre. The family is split between two large cities, so it's not as though they're sheltered.It's a study I'm doing right now, so it will be a year or more before it is (hopefully) published. The data are from the Pew Center for the People and Press, which is a pretty solid survey organization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etifan Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 You picked a great topic. If you have time to keep us updated, I would love to read more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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