Crosswalk Headlines Formerly ChristianHeadlines
Topics:

65 Percent of Americans Say There Are Only 2 Genders: 'Reality Proves Hard to Beat'

  • Michael Foust Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
  • Updated Jun 26, 2023
65 Percent of Americans Say There Are Only 2 Genders: 'Reality Proves Hard to Beat'

A large majority of Americans say they believe there are only two genders, according to a new survey that found a significant portion of Republicans, Independents and even Democrats siding with the traditional position.

The Public Religion Research Institute poll, released this month, found that 65 percent of Americans say they believe there are only two genders – an increase from 62 percent in 2022 and 59 percent in 2021. About one-third of Americans (34 percent) say they think there are more than two genders.

Among Republicans, 90 percent say they are only two genders, an increase from the 87 percent who answered that way in 2021. Among Democrats, 44 percent believe there are only two genders (38 percent in 2021). Two-thirds of Independents (66 percent in 2023, 60 percent in 2021) say there are only two genders.

Americans in every age group, including Generation Z (57 percent), say there are only two genders.

Daniel Darling, director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and author of the forthcoming book Agents of Grace, said the data is significant.

“This is a testament to the reality that natural law – God’s fixed order in the universe designed for human flourishing – is visible even to those not regenerated by the Holy Spirit,” Darling wrote in a World column under the headline, “Reality proves hard to beat.”

“This gives conservatives a window to appeal to common sense and press beautiful creational truths into a confused world.”

Christians, Darling wrote, “should not base our belief system on the fickle winds of popular opinion but on the unchanging realities of God’s Word.”

“Because we love our neighbors, we can point out that the reality they see – the glory of God in the creation of His image bearers as male and female – is a reality they shouldn’t deny,” Darling wrote.

The survey included interviews with more than 5,000 Americans.

Photo courtesy: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/champja 

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.