A study by the Center for American Progress found that when media is looking for comments from a religious source, they usually turn to those who oppose LGBTQ equality.
According to a press release from CAP, the finding is in stark contrast to overall support for LGBTQ rights by religious Americans. While 66 percent of the views expressed in media by those religious sources are negative, only 29 percent of Americans who identify as religious hold those negative views.
The report notes that as public support in faith communities has shifted dramatically in recent years, news media hasn’t reflected this shift in who it quotes.
The study covered articles that appeared in three national newspapers, the Associated Press and 10 local publications including the Dallas Morning News.
If coverage of Pete Buttigieg’s candidacy for president and the fight in the Methodist Church over LGBTQ inclusion were omitted, the number of anti-LGBTQ references would even be higher. In the case of the Methodist Church and coverage by the Morning News that would be especially true since almost all Methodist churches in Dallas favor full LGBTQ inclusion.
— David Taffet
