Though millennials are generally considered to be very progressive on LGBTQ issues, a new poll suggests the younger generation might be trending in a more conservative direction.
According to a new survey commissioned by GLAAD, exactly one third — or 33 percent — of millennials, aged between 18 and 34, said they would be uncomfortable if their children were placed in a classroom with an LGBTQ teacher.
Furthermore, 39 percent indicated they would be uncomfortable to learn their children sat through a lesson in school on LGBTQ history — a major uptick from 2017, when 30 percent of respondents said they same.
Thirty-six percent of millennials revealed they were uncomfortable to learn a family member identified as LGBTQ. In 2017, only 29 percent said the same.
Similarly, 34 percent of young people said they would be uncomfortable to learn their doctor is LGBTQ, compared to 27 percent in 2017.
John Gerzema, CEO of The Harris Poll, which conducted the GLAAD-backed survey, said the findings are “very alarming and signal a looming social crisis in discrimination.”
GLAAD president Kate Ellis agreed the numbers are surprising, but said some of it could be due to the fact millennials are no longer simply dealing with homosexuality, but are now faced with a laundry list of sexual orientations.
“This newness they are experiencing could be leading to this erosion,” she said. “It’s a newness that takes time for people to understand. Our job is to educate about non-conformity.”
Focus on the Family’s Glenn Stanton, who heads up the organization’s global family formation studies, sees the data differently. He told Christian Headlines the survey’s results could indicate a new trend.
“The gay movement continues to over-play its hand,” he said. “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.”