Frances Rabbitts reviews ‘Same-Sex Parenting Research: A Critical Assessment’ by Walter R. Schumm (2018).
In a week when a former magistrate has lost his appeal over his right to express (even in private) Christian views about same-sex adoption, it seems especially pertinent to review this 2018 book from Wilberforce Publications on academic understandings of gay marriage and parenting.
In the second of two gold standard studies commissioned by the Oxford Centre for Religion and Public Life (the first was published in 2014 as The Marriage Files), US Professor of applied family science Walter R. Schumm provides a comprehensive review of the academic social science literature on the politically charged issue of same-sex parenting. In so doing, he challenges the claim, presented so often as incontrovertible, that same-sex partnerships are no different to heterosexual partnerships when it comes to the raising of children.
Schumm sets out to ‘follow the evidence where it leads’, unwilling to accept brazen claims of absolute academic consensus on this issue at face value. Undeterred by the many powerful enemies this has made him, Schumm not only presents a fair-minded review; he also levels a devastating critique at academia’s co-option by LGBTQ+ dogma, leading one scholar to label the book the “social science parallel to Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses being nailed to the Wittenberg Chapel door”.
Incorrect and Over-Blown Claims
The book is organised into 15 relatively short chapters grouped into six sections, making it easy to use for reference purposes. The main body of the research is contained in sections 2-5, with each chapter organised into ‘What has been claimed’, ‘What we know’, a critical assessment of the existing literature and a short conclusion. As the book progresses, a pattern quickly becomes evident: “the facts on the ground do not support many of the so-called ‘consensus’ claims” (p229) about the issue of same-sex parenting.
Part 1 is given to background information, including a summary of the LGBTQ+ challenge to traditional marriage, and social science theory on sexual morality, marriage and happiness. Part 2 starts with assessing the number of children raised by same-sex parents in the US. Here we gain an astonishing insight into the way academics can get their most basic facts wrong, rushing to echo wildly incorrect but convenient claims without due consideration: Schumm traces the oft-cited figure of 6-14 million children back to an unsubstantiated newspaper article, with the real figure more likely to be about 200,000.
Schumm challenges the claim, presented so often as incontrovertible, that same-sex partnerships are no different to heterosexual partnerships when it comes to the raising of children.
Other chapters confirm that academic claims about the benefits of same-sex parenting have also been vastly over-blown, with many gaping holes in the literature and lesser-known studies indicating that the real picture is more complicated. For instance, some research suggests that children of same-sex parents may be vastly less likely to enjoy a stable family home, and that children may act as destabilising factors in same-sex marriages (cf. they act as stabilising factors in heterosexual marriages).
Parts 3 and 4 focus on the impacts of same-sex parenting on children’s sexuality, gender identity, mental health and value systems. Schumm challenges the flat academic denial that same-sex parenting is any different to heterosexual parenting, citing newly emerged studies but also recognising the lack of research into this issue. In Part 5, we are given some insights into the potentially negative consequences of same-sex marriage and parenting on society as a whole, before Part 6 offers some conclusions.
Science ‘Thrown Under the Bus’
Schumm is obviously an expert in his field who balks at his profession being corrupted by politically-motivated claims that cannot be backed up by sound empirical evidence. He challenges anyone to conduct a wider-ranging and more scholastically sound review of the literature than he has managed here (his bibliography runs to 31 pages, a tenth of the book), with the same willingness to consider all the evidence - even that which doesn't fit the given narrative.
But he has done more than review sociological understandings of this issue: he provides an eye-opening account of how social science has largely capitulated in the ideological battle for Western culture, throwing itself “under the bus” (p225) to advance the LGBTQ+ cause.
Schumm points to the increasingly totalitarian atmosphere of higher education, with scholars who dare to deviate from the consensus position ignored, ridiculed, silenced or sacked. His epilogue and appendices are dedicated to reflecting on this professional cost of dissent, including his personal defence against his critics, and testimony about his own and colleagues’ experiences of being discredited and shut down.
Readers begin to understand that behind the culture wars in the West being fought in the courts, the papers and the schools, lie the hallowed halls of our universities, where most of the radical anti-Christian ideas that are now transforming our society were conceived and incubated.
Schumm is obviously an expert in his field who balks at his profession being corrupted by politically-motivated claims that cannot be backed up by sound empirical evidence.
Honest and Refreshing
Schumm’s devotion to scholarly excellence is refreshing, allowing the literature to speak for itself rather than imposing his own value judgments. He is not afraid to critique careless science, to offer caveats and clarifications, to anticipate counter-arguments and to acknowledge areas where further research is desperately needed. Much of this (including his statistical analyses) may not be directly useful to the lay reader, but it does underscore the author’s honesty and diligence, strengthening his credibility.
Do not be fooled into thinking that this book is not for you because it is an academic literature review – apart from being a helpful encouragement that ‘the science’ behind same-sex parenting is still developing and certainly does not discredit the common-sense view derived from Scripture, it is just as valuable for its window in on the battle for ideas raging in academia.
Though aimed predominantly at scholars and students, it is a surprisingly easy read that will be both accessible and relevant to church leaders, professionals and anyone seeking to better their own understanding of the issue. An ideal resource for anyone concerned to confront the gender ideology juggernaut and its over-simplistic, ideological claims with a more reasonable, evidence-based view of reality, written in the belief that science should be about searching for the truth, however inconvenient it may end up being.
‘Same-Sex Parenting Research: A Critical Assessment’ (308pp, paperback) is available from Amazon for £14. Also on Kindle. Read more on the Wilberforce Publications website.