Our culture has grown increasingly polarized, and many of those fomenting divisiveness use the mantle of religious righteousness to justify their efforts. Jesus' message Sunday is a radical departure from and critique of the status quo, says PrepareTheWord’s “Who’s Listening?” reflection this week.

Few contemporary issues generate as much divisive rhetoric as that of gay and lesbian rights, especially the charged issue of same-sex marriage. Differences of opinion are often explained away along religious lines: Nonreligious folks support its legalization, while the devout are against it.

But that generalization glosses over some real differences in the way religious groups perceive the issue, according to a new Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) survey. The study finds that all major religious groups support employment discrimination protections for gay and lesbian Americans. But even on the more contentious issue of same-sex marriage, these groups are on both sides of the debate.

The nation as a whole is evenly divided on the issue of gay marriage, finds the survey: 47 percent favor its legalization while another 47 percent oppose it. Two-thirds of those who aren't affiliated with any religion or who are affiliated with one other than Christianity support same-sex marriage.

What is surprising is that 52 percent of Catholics and 51 percent of white mainline Protestants also support gay marriage. In contrast, 60 percent of black Protestants and 76 percent of white evangelicals are against its legalization.

Official Catholic Church teaching opposes gay marriage and the social acceptance of homosexuality and same-sex relationships but teaches that homosexual persons deserve respect and pastoral care. Explanations for variances between official teaching and rank-and-file opinion can be found in nonreligious factors, observers argue.

Catholics, for example, are more likely to live in urbanized states than evangelicals, predisposing them to adopt more socially liberal ideologies. The support gap between black and white mainline Protestants might be attributed in part to differing cultural pressures within those racial communities.

Overall, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of Americans agree that gay and lesbian relationships should be accepted by society, including majorities of all major religious groups except white evangelicals.

Religious differences may not matter much in several generations: The main theme of the PRRI study, “Generations at Odds: The Millennial Generation and the Future of Gay and Lesbian Rights,” is that younger people are supporting gay rights at much higher rates than their elders.

Sources: Postings by Dino Grandoni for TheAtlantic.com and on PublicReligion.org and AmericanCatholic.org