In 2023, the rate of people who identified as LGBTQ was 7.6%. At the time, that was a sharp increase from the 3.5% recorded in 2020. However, in just one year’s time, the number has continued to climb. In fact, Gallup released a poll last week that found a record “high of 9.3% of adults [who] identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual.”
Researchers noticed that Generation Z, in particular, carried the majority of the weight in this upward shift. In fact, the poll found that more than one in five Gen Z adults identified as “LGBTQ.” On the other hand, the older the generation, the less likely they were to identify with the LGBT ideology. As The Washington Times noted, the numbers steadily dropped “from 14.2% of millennials born between 1981 and 1996 to 1.8% of Silent Generation adults born before 1946.”
The Washington Times added, “Gallup chalked up the trend to an uptick in younger, liberal women identifying as bisexual during the years of the Biden administration.” In the last two years of the Biden administration alone there was a sharp increase, with the percent of Gen Z that identified as LGBT going “from an average of 18.8% of Gen Z adults in 2020 through 2022 to an average of 22.7% from 2022 to 2024.”
Gallup concluded that, “in the 12 years that Gallup has been tracking LGBTQ+ identification, it has nearly tripled, as those becoming adults during that period have been far more likely than their elders to say they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.” They also stated that “the rate of LGBTQ+ identification is likely to continue to grow, given the generational shifts underway.” However, these conclusions come at an interesting point in political history.
After four years of an administration that prioritized LGBT agendas as well as controversial diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in nearly all facets of society, President Donald Trump seems to have made it his personal mission to undo most of what Biden put in place. And in keeping with what he promised on the campaign trail, Trump has done just that.
Despite the record high number of people who identify as LGBT, Trump has signed numerous orders directly pushing against LGBT activism and DEI policies — both on the federal and local levels. On day one, he made it the official policy of the government to only recognize two genders: male and female. He has also signed an order to bar federal funds from schools that allow men to compete in women’s athletics. Trump has steadily removed DEI from the ranks of Capitol Hill and beyond, all while his administration work toward the promotion of free speech and the protection of both life and religion (with a notable emphasis on Christianity).
On Friday’s “Washington Watch,” Family Research Council’s David Closson, director of the Center for Biblical Worldview, weighed in on the poll’s findings. “I often talk about how we live in a moral revolution,” he said. As he went on to emphasize, and as the poll demonstrated, the number of people who cause statistics like these to rise has increasingly been “fueled particularly by the youngest adult demographic.” Currently, “close to 20% [23.1%] of the youngest adult demographic identifies as LGBTQ.” And yet, Closson added. “I’m not surprised.”
He continued, “Every cultural institution, whether it’s the arts … [or] higher education is pushing this agenda.” As such, “a large part of this is that, especially for those who identify as transgender, there’s a social contagion that … is fueling those numbers,” which flourished under Biden, Closson noted. However, he added, for Christians, this is “an opportunity” to continue promoting the truth.
“[A]s Christians,” he said, “we want to be good cultural apologists. We want to be able to relate to our friends and neighbors.” And when it comes to LGBT ideology, “our North Star in this conversation is Ephesians 4:15 that we ‘speak the truth in love.’” Ultimately, Clossen contended, “we increasingly live in a post-Christian world,” which means “we need to realize that fewer of our friends and neighbors are going to understand our convictions, especially our sexual ethic.” And yet, he urged, “we have to speak the truth. We need to be clear on where the Bible lands on this issue. We need to be clear where Jesus Himself stands on this issue.” And as this is boldly proclaimed, he argued, “we also [should] speak lovingly.”
Closson concluded, “We want to be people that are filled with compassion and love and kindness. But we cannot retreat. And so, we recognize, as far as popular opinion, those of us who are theologically conservative are on the losing side of this” cultural battle. However, “at the end of the day, we are on God’s side,” he observed, which, as guest host Jody Hice stated, is ultimately “the winning side” in light of eternity.
