June 20, 1997

Results From the 1996 National Church Life Survey

While not the central focus of the National Church Life Survey (NCLS), the 1996 survey asked attenders about their attitudes to a range of social and ethical questions as well as questions on church practices. It is not the Intention of the NCLS researchers to engage directly in debate, nor to take sides on what are difficult issues. It is important, however, that where detailed data is available it is made available to everybody in an accessible form.

A report entitled ‘On Sexuality’ has now been released. This report provides an overview of attenders’ views on aspects of sexuality that are the subject of significant debate in denominations at present. It is released because in the process of discussion, it is always important to know what attenders think. The report (covering attenders from 23 different Anglican and Protestant denominations across Australia) represents responses from a random sample of attenders (around 2,001) persons) in an average week in the 1996 NCLS. It provides a useful benchmark from which discussion can take place. Catholic data on these issues is not included as it is not yet available.

ON SEXUAL PRACTICES

The NCLS asked attenders about their attitudes to sex before marriage and extra-marital sexual activity.

When asked whether it was wrong for a man and woman to have sexual relations before marriage, 57 percent of attenders feel it is always wrong. A further 10 percent say it is almost always wrong, 13 percent say it is sometimes wrong and 13 percent say it is not wrong. Around 48 percent of Anglicans and 56 percent of Uniting Church attenders believe it is always or almost always wrong. This compares with over 80 percent in many other denominations and 67 percent of attenders as a whole. On the question of married people having sexual relations with someone other than their husband or wife, attenders were strongly critical, some 90 percent feel it is always wrong and a further 6 percent think that it is almost always wrong. There is little difference across denominations on this issue.

ON MATTERS OF HOMOSEXUALITY

The NCLS asked attenders whether homosexuals should be accepted as members in the Church on the same basis as heterosexuals. It also asked whether they should be appointed to leadership positions in the Church on the same basis as heterosexuals.

Regarding membership in the Church, round a third of attenders (35 percent) feel that homosexuals should be accepted as members on the same basis as heterosexuals. On the other hand, 27 percent disagree with a further 27 percent feeling they should be accepted on the same basis as heterosexuals only if they were non-practising. The majority of attenders do not agree with the open acceptance of homosexuality. Anglican attenders are more open to unconditionally accepting homosexuals as members (54 percent), as are Uniting Church members (43 members) and Lutheran Church members (40 percent). Less than a quarter of attenders take such a position in most other denominations.

Across the Church there is little support for accepting homosexuals into leadership positions in the church on the same basis as heterosexuals, with only 12 percent agreeing. A majority of attenders (59 percent) disagree and a further 18 percent believe homosexuals should be appointed to leadership positions on the same basis as heterosexuals only if they are non-practising. There would appear to be little support for homosexuals being appointed to leadership positions on the same basis as heterosexuals across the Church. Relatively little variation was noted in the responses between age groups and in no denomination did support rise above 20%.

  When considering the statement that gays and lesbians are as healthy and moral as anybody else 70 percent of attenders disagree (including 48 percent very strongly) with 17 percent agreeing and 13 percent unsure. At the same time attenders believed the Church has a responsibility to care for persons with AIDS with 68 percent of all attenders agreeing that this was important.

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Appropriate sexual behaviour is something about which attenders have strong views that are often divergent to those in the wider community (see the June 1997 edition of Pointers, the journal of the Christian Research Association for a comparison of the views of attenders and those in the wider community drawn from the 1993 National Social Science Survey).

While decisions by churches on matters of policy or theology are not to be decided by what is most popular, nevertheless the views of attenders are important to be understood and heard. All Christian traditions place importance on the place of the gathered Christian community in discovering priorities and directions. In this regard the NCLS provides a useful window into the minds and perceptions of Church attenders across the country.

NCLS RESEARCH TEAM

For further details

The detailed report from which these results are drawn is available from NCLS Research Offices. It includes further details of the questions covered here as well as other questions on sexuality not discussed above. Several major publications are also available or planned from NCLS’96 as well as other reports, workshops and a study of community values and attitudes. Please contact NCLS Research for further information about any of these resources.

Contact: Bronwyn Hughes

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