Hatching falsehood
Via Andrew Sullivan, I saw today that Sen. Orrin Hatch recently told a crowd at Dixie State College in St. George, Utah, “Gays and lesbians don’t pay tithing, their religion is politics.”
That’s just false. According to a 2009 survey by the Barna Group, 60% of gay adults say faith is “very important” in their lives. The study also found that gay and lesbian Americans are less likely to be registered to vote than heterosexuals.
I suppose one can’t fault Sen. Hatch for not having Barna’s data at his fingertips, but if he cared to understand the role faith plays in the lives of LGBT Americans instead of just spouting false stereotypes, he’d find gay and lesbian people of faith in diverse congregations across the country. He wouldn’t have to go very far, either. Sen. Hatch’s office is 3 ½ miles from my church, which has numerous LGBT members. I don’t snoop around in the collection plate to see who tithes and who doesn’t, but I know that my neighbors in the pews worship God, not politics. Sen. Hatch doesn’t have the standing to dismiss their faith or anyone else’s.