MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (AP) — Results from a Star Tribune Minnesota poll of the state’s religious beliefs and practices, taken of 1,049 people Dec. 2-8, found that 58 percent of respondents oppose ordaining gays and lesbians. Fifty-three percent said homosexuality is sinful, and 51 percent oppose granting homosexual couples the same legal rights as married people.

The Episcopal Church made international news this past summer in Minneapolis when it approved a sexually active gay man as bishop of New Hampshire and acknowledged that blessings of same-sex relationships are taking place “within the bounds of our common life.”

Consistently, through all three poll questions, a profile of those who oppose and support gay rights emerges among Minnesotans.

Younger, more educated, politically liberal and religiously inactive Minnesotans are more likely to favor legal rights for couples, are less likely to believe that homosexuality is a sin and would allow ordination. Those on the other side are older, less educated, politically conservative and more religiously active.

For example: 47 percent of people ages 25-34 favor ordaining sexually active gays and lesbians, compared with 19 percent of those 65 and older. And 72 percent of people with less than a high-school education believe homosexuality is a sin, while 39 percent of college graduates believe so. About 80 percent of those with less than a high-school education oppose ordination, compared with about half of college graduates who oppose it. Seventy-nine percent of people who said they have had a “born again” experience think homosexuality is a sin.

However, people are conflicted by the issues. David Nelson, 32, a construction manager from St. Paul, said, “I personally don’t have any problem with two people of the same sex having a relationship if they truly love each other, but I don’t agree with it. It’s not something I want my kids to be taught is a normal thing. When they get old enough to see for themselves, that’s fine, but I don’t want it pushed on them.”

Vicky Stull, 49, of Alexandria, Minn., said she favors same-sex couples having the same legal rights as heterosexual couples.

“I think heterosexual couples have done a pretty good job of destroying the sanctity of marriage by ourselves,” she said.

The spotlight will soon turn to the 850,000 Minnesotans who are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, as it decides whether to ordain sexually active gays and lesbians.

At its national assembly meeting this past August, the 5.2 million-member denomination decided to vote on ordination in 2005 at its national assembly in Florida.