Majority of Americans would rather have a gay president

than an evangelical christian president.

More Americans feel comfortable with a presidential candidate who identifies as gay or lesbian than with one who identifies as an evangelical Christian, according to a new poll.

The latest WSJ/NBC poll listed a series of qualities in a potential presidential candidate and asked respondents whether they'd "be enthusiastic," "be comfortable with," "have some reservations about" or "be very uncomfortable with" a candidate with each of those qualities.

The results revealed that Americans are actually quite open to having a gay presidential candidate. Sixty-one percent said they would be either enthusiastic about or comfortable with a gay or lesbian candidate, while only 37 percent said they would have reservations or be uncomfortable.

By comparison, respondents were a little less comfortable with the prospect of a candidate who is an evangelical Christian. Fifty-two percent said they'd be enthusiastic about or comfortable with an evangelical Christian running for president, while 44 percent expressed some degree of hesitancy about the idea. (Two percent of respondents said they were not sure about a gay or lesbian candidate, while four percent were not sure about an evangelical.)

The results point to a cultural shift in perceptions of gay people in recent years.

Link: http://www.advocate.com/politics/2015/05/06/poll-americans-prefer-gay-president-evangelical-or-tea-partier

Thoughts?

I think it is alright.

Why only Evangelical? What about all the thousands of other Christian denominations?

Evangelicals have been behind the Christian Right/Moral Majority political push over the last 3 or 4 decades.

Did not know that. Interesting.

If those were their only selling point (and I couldn't vote for anyone else) I'd definitely vote for the gay one.

Was totally expecting "than an atheist president". "Sense" is starting to make some inroads in America.

I suspect that when most voters think of evangelical christian presidents, their mind pivots to Bush Jr. 44 percent expressing some degree of hesitancy seems about right.

They're kinda crazy. More so than most main stream denominations that is.

and dishonest.

gay pride parades are obviously working, keep em coming

prejudice much?

Maybe that @alim298 guy is right. Maybe the country's future is in shambles.

I don't see how...if we had 2 candidates and one based his/her campaign around being gay and the other around being evangelical christian the first, if elected, would probably put a lot of emphasis in gay rights, which is a good thing in my book and the other would probably put an emphasis in mixing politics with religious, which I don't think it's such a great idea.

@korvus: i agree, religion almost always end in bloodshed!

Imagine affirmative action making its way to the presidency, that would be something to behold.

I don't see why it would matter if the President is Gay or not.

Oh I guess homosexuality is the next step in evolution and a religious guy would be too primitive okay

This world would be more peaceful if we all gay..

@Dogswithguns: @drflyntcoal:

This.

Also, I love boobs too much to let this happen.

Doesn"t mean much. Between the two, I'd pick a gay president as well. But, putting it in proper perspective, the two choices rank near, if not at the bottom.

How about just voting for the person instead of race creed or color.

Besides the argument of redefining marriage, which is not a right, what rights do gays in America not currently have?

An evangelical would be fine for a President if that was the only quality he possessed. Evangelicals support the abandonment of sin and seeking of forgiveness, qualities that guided men for thousands of years and created the foundations of the nations of today and throughout history. So far the only known example of a civilization built upon the infrastructure of homosexuality didn't last long or end so well...

@richietickles: Guess you have your beliefs and I have mine and that's perfectly fine.

Yeah, and I feel bad that yours are wrong and mine are right.

We'll just have to accept such things.

@richietickles: I sincerely hope you are, that way you can be in Heaven and I out of it. We both get what we want =)

The creed of Evangelicals has become fair game since they injected themselves as a major political force in the 80s.

If you insist on pushing your creed's influence into the political process, then I don't see how it's not fair that a candidate's creed is a consideration.

Their sexuality shouldn't even be a factor, it's a shame that it has, along with skin colour.

Well, that's actually not true. Like, not even close to being true. The majority of people in the world follow some sort of religion (even if only loosely), and the VAST majority of them don't partake in any religious-inspired violence.

As a Christian I couldn't care less about either running for president on those grounds alone. The presidency isn't solely a platform for demographic representation, it's about running a country. If your politics fall in line, I'll vote for you -- simple as that.

Majority of Americans are politically correct then.

I'm not sure what an evangelical christian is but one thing's for sure. Christians are here to stay whether others like it or not.

@foxhound_fox said:

Was totally expecting "than an atheist president". "Sense" is starting to make some inroads in America.

nobody wants Joseph Stalin or Fidel Castro back in power ...

it should be that simple but most people let their foolish preconceptions guide their voting decisions rather than objectively looking at the facts.

@foxhound_fox said:

Was totally expecting "than an atheist president". "Sense" is starting to make some inroads in America.

Lol, that's what I was thinking.

Huh? We specifically vote for people based on their 'creed'. What do you think shapes people's world view and stances in politics?

No doubt when people hear the word evangelical they are thinking Billy Graham. This is the only reason this poll is the way it is. I am a Christian and I would rather have a gay pres than a Billy Graham. I am sure this is why the poll went this way, semantics. If it were just a Christian that would be stupid, even Obama is considers himself a Christian.

Just curious ... but why not a Billy Graham?

Gay is only a minority.

Honestly, whoever has the better plan for the country gets my vote, not their religious belief or sexual preference.

Let the Fabulous State of America be born

@hippiesanta said:

@foxhound_fox said:

Was totally expecting "than an atheist president". "Sense" is starting to make some inroads in America.

nobody wants Joseph Stalin or Fidel Castro back in power ...

Too bad their legislated atheism had nothing to do with their abuse of power.