As you know, I often try to highlight religious research data. There has been much data on mainline denominational leadership as of late. Last week, it was the Mainline Protestant Clergy Survey. Now, it is the Pew Forum.

The Pew Forum is sharing some research that shows most mainline Protestants say society should accept homosexuality. Perhaps this is not "new news," but the strength of opinion is surprising, at least to me.

The Scripps Howard News Service published a story with the title, "Is sex outside of marriage a sin?" (The title may change in local papers.) Terry Mattingly interviewed me for the story a few days ago (after the Pew research was posted).

You can read the full story here.

Some excerpts:

It's becoming more and more dangerous for preachers to use the words "sex" and "sin" in the same sentence...

"We have to recognize that our historic positions on sexual issues are becoming incredibly distasteful to more people in this culture and especially to our media and popular culture," said Ed Stetzer, director of the Southern Baptist Convention's LifeWay Research team.

"The whole 'Hate the sin, love the sinner' thing -- people are not getting that anymore. People do not believe that we mean that."

Right now, the gay-marriage issue is making headlines. But for millions of traditional believers in Christianity, Judaism, Islam and many other faiths, this issue is linked to a question rooted in religious doctrine, not modern politics. In a spring LifeWay survey, researchers asked: "Do you believe homosexual behavior is a sin?"

The results showed a culture torn in half, with 48 percent of American adults saying that homosexual acts are sinful and 45 percent disagreeing.

Considering the margin for error, this is a virtual tie...

These numbers are evidence of great change in the religious and moral views of many Americans, yet they also point toward familiar tensions between traditionalists and progressives. The Pew Forum survey, for example, again demonstrated a reality seen in recent elections. Americans who frequently attend worship services and say that religion is very important in their lives continue to take more conservative stands on hot moral issues in public life.

What about people outside the pews? That is where another set of statistics will prove especially distressing to clergy who sincerely want to defend what Stetzer called the ancient "one man, one woman, one lifetime" doctrine of marriage.

In the LifeWay survey, 32 percent of American adults said that their decision to visit or join a congregation would be "negatively affected" if it taught that homosexual behavior is a sin. That number rose to 49 percent among the "unchurched," those who rarely or never attend worship.

The issue of homosexuality does not, of course, stand alone, said Stetzer. It's getting harder for religious leaders to maintain consistent teachings about other acts and conditions that traditional forms of religion have, for centuries, considered a sin. This affects preaching on premarital sex, divorce, cohabitation and adultery.

"Ultimately, the modern church has failed to proclaim and explain a biblical ethic of sexuality," he said. "We also need to admit that the church has failed to live out the ethic that it's claiming to be advocating. If we are going to say that we stand for the sanctity of marriage, then we -- in our churches and in our homes -- are going to have to live out the sanctity of marriage."

LifeWay Research (LWR) recently released research on the issue of homosexuality. I will share it in two parts. This is the first and we released it in early June. The second part was released in Indianapolis on Tuesday-- that will be part of a forthcoming post.

Lifeway recently conducted a survey that focused on Americans' view of homosexuality. The results present our churches with a serious cultural challenge. "A telephone survey of 1,201 American adults, conducted in April 2008, revealed that 48 percent of all Americans believe homosexual behavior is sinful, while 45 percent believe it is not sinful, almost a statistical tie when considering the margin of error." The country seems to divided on the issue, but the result is an impact on who may be unwilling to give you and your church a hearing.

"Thirty-two percent of Americans - almost one in three - said their decision to visit or join a church would be negatively affected if that congregation taught homosexual behavior is sinful." This means that about a third of the people we are seeking to share the gospel may be unwilling to give our message a chance based on our theological convictions. The challenge will be to demonstrate both compassion and truth; to love unconditionally while pointing to the life transformation that God offers to all who believe. This requires a robust theology, and a compassionate heart.

Check out the article from Lifeway and be prepared to engage this issue in your city with love for the lost that compels you to speak and practice the truth for their good and God's glory.

The cultural trajectory is toward greater acceptance of homosexuality. Recent books like unChristian, They Like Jesus but not the Church, and my own forthcoming Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and Churches that Reach Them have all pointed to this challenge among younger generations. Simply put, the younger you are, the more accepting you are of homosexuality.

It is an important issue and Christians will need to walk a difficult line-- to speak the truth, but also to do so in love.