Conservative commentator Glenn Beck on
Thursday predicted that church attendance would shrink by half in the
next five years if the Supreme Court declares gay marriage bans
unconstitutional.
Beck made the prediction after
interviewing Aaron and Melissa Klein, the owners of an Oregon bakery
who are facing fines for refusing to make a cake for a lesbian
couple's 2013 commitment ceremony. (At the time, gay couples could
not marry in Oregon.)
A high court ruling striking down the
bans will lead to government seizures of church property and the
persecution of Christians, Beck
said.
“Mark my words,” Beck told
listeners, “if gay marriage goes through the Supreme Court and gay
marriage becomes fine and they can put teeth in it so now they can go
after churches, like the president's lawyer says, 50 percent of our
churches will fall away. Meaning, within 5 years, 50 percent of the
congregants will fall away from their church because they won't be
able to take the persecution.”
Beck continued: “Mark my word, within
5 years, 50 percent of the people that you sit next to in church will
not be there. And not because [they'll say,] 'You know what, I think
[gay marriage is] fine,' [but] because they'll say, 'I can't do that.
I'll lose my job. People are picketing my house. I just can't do
that.'”