There’s been lots of good news for gay marriage supporters lately, in the United States and around the world. Some recent stories, including negative reactions from conservative Catholics, Protestants and Mormons:

• Defying church, Argentina legalizes gay marriage (Time)
• Spain to get church for same-sex marriages (AFP)
• Polls finds shifts on Calif. gay marriage ban (Religion News Service)
• DC’s gay marriage law survives court challenge (Christian Science Monitor)
• U.S. Judge: Gay marriage ban unconstitutional (Christianity Today)
• Court rejection of DOMA ‘dangerous and disappointing,’ U.S. bishops say (Catholic News Agency)

Is it that same-sex marriage and other gay rights issues (repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell) gain more public acceptance with the passage of time, and/or are conservative Christians focusing on other areas these days? Is USA Today’s Cathy Lynn Grossman on to something, wondering whether religious attitudes on gay marriage come down to something like daddy issues? I suspect that it’s no coincidence, although correlation should never be confused with causation, that another religion news trend lately concerns younger evangelical Christians striving to distance themselves from polarizing social issues in favor of environmental causes, immigration reform and helping the poor.

(My two cents: Whether or not the religious right is “losing its children,” meaningful support for political candidates still comes down to their opposition to abortion, same-sex marriage and other gay rights issues — regardless of where they stand on oil drilling regulations, guest worker programs, etc. If that changes, stop the presses.)

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below.

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