Surprise: Young Adults Growing More Conservative on LGBT Issues, Poll Finds

Michael Foust | ChristianHeadlines.com Contributor | Updated: Jun 25, 2019
Surprise: Young Adults Growing More Conservative on LGBT Issues, Poll Finds

Surprise: Young Adults Growing More Conservative on LGBT Issues, Poll Finds

Millennials often are considered the forerunner on changing attitudes about LGBT issues, but a new poll reveals they may be growing more traditional and conservative.  

Exactly one-third (33 percent) of Americans ages 18-34 say they would be uncomfortable having their child placed in a class with an LGBTQ teacher – an increase from 29 percent among that age group in 2017 and 25 percent in 2016. 

Additionally, 39 percent of 18-34-year-old adults say they'd be uncomfortable learning their child had a lesson on LGBTQ history in school. That, too, was an uptick from 2017 (30 percent) and 2016 (27 percent).

The survey was conducted by the Harris Poll for Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) among 1,754 non-LGBTQ American adults. 

On both questions, Millennials are equal to or more traditional than the general population.

Among all adults, 32 percent say they would be uncomfortable having their child in a class with an LGBTQ teacher – a slight gain from 2017 (31 percent) and 2016 (28 percent). 

And 39 percent of all adults say they would be uncomfortable with their child having LGBTQ history lessons, an increase from 2017 (37 percent) and 2016 (34 percent).

“This year’s results demonstrate an urgent need for GLAAD to reach younger Americans with stories and campaigns that build acceptance,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD president. 

But Glenn T. Stanton, director of global family formation studies at Focus on the Family, said the data might be the result of a backlash. Stanton is the author of the new book, The Myth of the Dying Church.

“This year’s numbers actually show a continuation of what could be a trend,” Stanton told Christian Headlines. “I think it has to do with the fact that the gay movement continues to over-play its hand and that will certainly continue. Rather than simply being ‘live and let live,’ they are forcing Americans to embrace their politics, and often with overwhelming muscle and the life-crushing public accusations of a person’s so-called ‘bigotry’ and ‘hatefulness’ if they dare disagree.”

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Michael Foust is a freelance writer. Visit his blog, MichaelFoust.com.

Photo courtesy: Markus Spiske/Unsplash



Surprise: Young Adults Growing More Conservative on LGBT Issues, Poll Finds