The most notable result of the new Public Religion Research Institute survey of attitudes toward Proposition 8 is the divide between Latino Catholics and Latino Protestants. The former are more in favor of same-sex marriage than any other ethno-religious group in the survey; the former are more opposed. (That's Catholics 57-38 in favor versus Protestants 73-22 opposed.) The correlation that's caught most attention is the disproportionately high number of Latino Catholics (41 percent) who think of God as an impersonal force. Although we're unfortunately not given a number for Latino Protestants, we are meant to assume that most of them regard God "as a person with whom one can have a relationship."
I can't dispute the Catholic number, but it makes no sense to me as an explanation. Latino Catholicism is, by all accounts, rich in personal connection--to the Virgin Mary and other saints, for example. I'd suggest that for Latino Protestants--as for evangelicals generally--same-sex marriage is a major issue, in effect a defining element of their faith. For Latino Catholics, it's not.
I can't dispute the Catholic number, but it makes no sense to me as an explanation. Latino Catholicism is, by all accounts, rich in personal connection--to the Virgin Mary and other saints, for example. I'd suggest that for Latino Protestants--as for evangelicals generally--same-sex marriage is a major issue, in effect a defining element of their faith. For Latino Catholics, it's not.
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