The Public Religion Research Institute released a study on sexual orientation and religion.

According to this study 80 percent of white evangelicals said they did not have any LGBTQ people in their friendship network.

I’m betting that some of the white evangelicals who claimed not to have any LGBTQ friends are themselves gay or lesbian. When same-sex love in condemned from pulpits as sinful, unbiblical and unnatural, I can understand why gay evangelicals would be afraid to come out to their fellow congregants, family, friends and even anonymous poll takers. The truth is that there are gays and lesbians in the choirs, leadership and membership of evangelical churches.

If closeted evangelicals realized that there are just as many LGBTQ persons in their churches as there are in society at large, maybe they would demand that their ministers stop their homophobic rhetoric.

Even though women and gay men compromise most of the membership of many black evangelical houses of worship, many black pastors condemn homosexuality from the pulpit, when the choir lofts behind them are filled with gay singers and musicians and the church members who are shouting “Hallelujah” the loudest are gay.

Enough with the unbiblical hypocrisy, self-hatred, homophobia and fear mongering. Evangelicals should love and accept the gay members of their churches.