Gerson and Christianity Today on the Shifts re Same-Sex Marriage

Michael Gerson writes on millennials in general shifting toward acceptance of same-sex marriage; Christianity Today summarizes the shifts among young evangelicals.  I agree with what I take to be Gerson's overall message (albeit one he appropriately qualifies and hedges): this trend is likely to continue rather than reverse.  Part of the shift on gay marriage may be due to a decline in religious commitment among millennials compared with people of the same age in years past (although the causation could run the other way too: Gerson cites a study suggesting that millennials may be leaving religion in part because they perceive it as "anti-gay").  But even significant  conversions to traditionalist/conservative Christianity don't seem likely to stop the trend, given the ongoing changes in the attitudes of young evangelicals that CT reports.

I know that some others on the blog think that traditionalist Christians must succeed in stopping same-sex marriage altogether--and must elevate that strategy over appeals to pluralism to protect their own religious-liberty rights--because once SSM is established, appeals to pluralism and religious liberty will be hopeless.  But Gerson thinks, and I agree, that conservatives will have to shift toward the pluralism/religious-liberty emphasis:

And the generational shift will inevitably influence the fights conservatives choose to make. Even a significant portion of millennials who regard homosexuality as immoral support gay marriage out of a commitment to pluralism. And arguments in favor of pluralism have a tremendous advantage in America. In much of the country, social conservatives may need to choose a more defensible political line — the protection of individual and institutional conscience rights for those who disagree with gay marriage. It is also a commitment of genuine pluralism to allow those with differing moral beliefs to associate in institutions that reflect their convictions.