Poll: This Causes the Biggest Divisions Among Christians

As the old saying goes, “In polite company, never discuss religion or politics.” And now, new research helps explain why.

YouGov released some new data Tuesday that indicate attitudes about who is and isn’t “a good Christian” have less to do with denomination and more to do with political views. Catholics tended to be most lenient, while Protestants tended to be more rigid in their political views.

“Most American Christians think you can be a good Christian and drink while married to a non-Christian, but few think that you can be a good Christian and support legal abortion,” the report stated. “In general, however, Catholics tend to be more forgiving than Protestants.

“Sixty-seven percent of Catholics say you can be a good Christian and be married to a non-Christian, compared to 56 percent of Protestants. Thirty-seven percent of Catholics also say you can be a good Christian and also be in a same-sex relationship, compared to 27 percent of Protestants. Protesants (29 percent) are more tolerant of supporting legal abortion than Catholics (20 percent), however.”

The degree to which Christians tolerate differences of opinion on political issues appeared to be affected by gender, as well. Women were, in general, less likely to say that someone is not a good Christian than men.