In Appreciation of Mark Regnerus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In academics there are a handful of political and cultural issues for which there are \u201cacceptable\u201d and \u201cunacceptable\u201d positions. If you agree with the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/2012\/06\/in-appreciation-of-mark-regnerus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In Appreciation of Mark Regnerus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In academics there are a handful of political and cultural issues for which there are \u201cacceptable\u201d and \u201cunacceptable\u201d positions. If you agree with the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/2012\/06\/in-appreciation-of-mark-regnerus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Black, White and Gray\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-06-28T12:44:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-06-29T11:36:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bradley Wright\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bradley Wright\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/2012\/06\/in-appreciation-of-mark-regnerus\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/2012\/06\/in-appreciation-of-mark-regnerus\/\",\"name\":\"In Appreciation of Mark Regnerus\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-06-28T12:44:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-06-29T11:36:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/#\/schema\/person\/ebde98f269e3f90232d9e5e3b7fe4603\"},\"description\":\"In academics there are a handful of political and cultural issues for which there are \u201cacceptable\u201d and \u201cunacceptable\u201d positions. If you agree with the\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/2012\/06\/in-appreciation-of-mark-regnerus\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/2012\/06\/in-appreciation-of-mark-regnerus\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/2012\/06\/in-appreciation-of-mark-regnerus\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"In Appreciation of Mark Regnerus\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/\",\"name\":\"Black, White and Gray\",\"description\":\"Where Christianity and Sociology Meet\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/#\/schema\/person\/ebde98f269e3f90232d9e5e3b7fe4603\",\"name\":\"Bradley Wright\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/52c16d5a6d3b7c7e38250e1870448abe?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/52c16d5a6d3b7c7e38250e1870448abe?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Bradley Wright\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.brewright.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/author\/bradleywright\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"In Appreciation of Mark Regnerus","description":"In academics there are a handful of political and cultural issues for which there are \u201cacceptable\u201d and \u201cunacceptable\u201d positions. If you agree with the","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/2012\/06\/in-appreciation-of-mark-regnerus\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"In Appreciation of Mark Regnerus","og_description":"In academics there are a handful of political and cultural issues for which there are \u201cacceptable\u201d and \u201cunacceptable\u201d positions. If you agree with the","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/2012\/06\/in-appreciation-of-mark-regnerus\/","og_site_name":"Black, White and Gray","article_published_time":"2012-06-28T12:44:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-06-29T11:36:38+00:00","author":"Bradley Wright","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Bradley Wright","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/2012\/06\/in-appreciation-of-mark-regnerus\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/2012\/06\/in-appreciation-of-mark-regnerus\/","name":"In Appreciation of Mark Regnerus","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-06-28T12:44:10+00:00","dateModified":"2012-06-29T11:36:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/#\/schema\/person\/ebde98f269e3f90232d9e5e3b7fe4603"},"description":"In academics there are a handful of political and cultural issues for which there are \u201cacceptable\u201d and \u201cunacceptable\u201d positions. If you agree with the","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/2012\/06\/in-appreciation-of-mark-regnerus\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/2012\/06\/in-appreciation-of-mark-regnerus\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/2012\/06\/in-appreciation-of-mark-regnerus\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"In Appreciation of Mark Regnerus"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/","name":"Black, White and Gray","description":"Where Christianity and Sociology Meet","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/#\/schema\/person\/ebde98f269e3f90232d9e5e3b7fe4603","name":"Bradley Wright","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/52c16d5a6d3b7c7e38250e1870448abe?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/52c16d5a6d3b7c7e38250e1870448abe?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Bradley Wright"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.brewright.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/author\/bradleywright\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/125"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":2376,"date":"2012-06-28T07:44:10","date_gmt":"2012-06-28T12:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/?p=2376"},"modified":"2012-06-29T06:36:38","modified_gmt":"2012-06-29T11:36:38","slug":"in-appreciation-of-mark-regnerus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/2012\/06\/in-appreciation-of-mark-regnerus\/","title":{"rendered":"In Appreciation of Mark Regnerus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Mark Regnerus has taken one of these \u201cunacceptable\u201d positions. He conducted a study to compare \u201chow the young-adult children of a parent who has had a same-sex romantic relationship fare on 40 different social, emotional, and relational outcome variables when compared with six other family-of-origin types.\u201d\u00a0To read his study, click here<\/a>. To read an interview with him about this study, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t study family demography, but my take is that his work is a worthwhile addition to the literature on this topic. The paper went through the peer-review process at a top journal and has been vetted by other sociologists of the family. (To read a letter in support of this research, click\u00a0 here<\/a>). This paper has produced scholarly debate, which is fine, for reasonable people can disagree on some of its technical and interpretive aspects\u2013this true with any sociological study.<\/p>\n

Much more problematic has been the response by some social activists, interest groups, and others who, among other things, have labeled this work\u00a0\u201cjunk science,\u201d made calls to remove his writing from newspapers, and even lodged a formal complaint against him with his university. Wow! This reaction gives the appearance of aiming to punish, shame, and even silence Regnerus. I view this as both\u00a0bullying and anti-intellectual.<\/p>\n

Activists on many issues\u2014both to the left and the right\u2014have an uneasy relationship with empirical research. They trumpet it when it supports their position, and they declaim it when it doesn\u2019t, and their approval of research is often unrelated to the actual quality of the research. (In fact, it often appears inversely associated). Theirs is an \u201cends-justifies-the-means\u201d approach to empirical research. Many advocates believe so strongly in the justice and rightness of their cause that they feel quite justified in attacking any perceived threats to it\u2014data be damned.<\/p>\n

When I organized this blog last year, Mark was the first person that I invited to join me. Though I had not met him, I knew of his reputation as a fine scholar and a devout Christian, and I was thrilled when he agreed to join us. In working with him this last year, I have had nothing but appreciation for his thoughtful and interesting writing, and I have enjoyed getting to know him.<\/p>\n

With this study, I have another thing to appreciate about him: his courage. He didn\u2019t just touch the third rail, he grabbed it with both hands. Out of personal conviction, he examined a topic that is highly controversial, and he had the courage to report his findings even when they flew in the face of conventional and \u201capproved\u201d wisdom. Thankfully Mark has tenure (once again it protects freedom of speech), but he\u2019s still going to take a serious hit for going against the cultural grain.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s to Mark\u2014both his scholarship and personal courage. Well done, Mark!<\/p>\n

(FYI: Since this topic is bringing out the trolls, I won\u2019t approve any comments on this post\u2026 don\u2019t want you to waste your time)<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"