I think having this data would be interesting, but to say
Proof of religious LGBTQ+ people pushes back against hateful movements
in the context of what the article is discussing is a big assumption. Hateful movements gonna hate. I’ve seen individual hearts and minds change once people realize that LGBTQ+ people aren’t “boogeymen” that must be watched out for, but are instead their neighbors, coworkers, sons and daughters (and I’ve seen those hearts and minds harden too…). But at the group level, in my experience, people who buy into those hateful religious movements don’t usually view their group actions as hateful—they view them as necessary to save themselves and others in the name of their beliefs.
Instead of shouting “those people are unlike us and we must fight against sin” in the direction of non-religiously affiliated LGBTQ+ people, it becomes “bless their hearts they want to be on the righteous path but we must help them overcome the scourge of sin” directed at religious in-group LGBTQ+ people. Maybe the hateful vitriol is softened, but the outcome tends to be the same.
But maybe I’m just jaded because I think organized religion is largely a scourge on humanity.