The Moral Majority and the Catholic church goer

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on a new survey of Catholics by the Public Religion Research Institute:

Do Catholics support homosexual marriage? It depends on how Catholic they are. Those who attend a few times a year think it's fine (59 percent); those who attend once or twice a month are mostly opposed (only 43 percent support it); and those who attend weekly or more are not big fans of two guys getting married (26 percent). In other words, there is a positive correlation between Mass attendance and adherence to the Church's teachings.

This makes perfect sense: Catholics who are Catholic in name only can be expected to entertain a secular vision of morality, i.e., one that prizes radical autonomy. Those who are serious about their religion look to more authoritative sources for guidance.

It was also disclosed in the survey that when Catholics are compared to other church-goers, they are "significantly less likely to hear about the issue of homosexuality from their clergy." Indeed, as a practicing Catholic, I never once heard a homily on homosexuality; even passing references have been few.

A recent ABC News and Washington Post poll disclosed that, for the first time, the majority of Americans favor homosexual marriage (53 percent). It should be kept in mind, however, that public opinion polls are not an accurate barometer of serious public sentiment: there have been more than 30 state initiatives on this subject, and never once have voters elected to support same-sex marriage.