Washington, Apr. 18 : A former top adviser to former Republican presidential candidate John McCain, Steve Schmidt, has warned the Grand Old Party (GOP) against becoming a `religious party'.

Schmidt told a Washington, D. C., convention for the Log Cabin Republicans -- a grassroots group for gay and lesbian Republicans, that the GOP must shift their views on gay marriage.

He also urged Republicans, in the near-term, to endorse civil unions and stop using the Bible as rationale for gay-marriage opposition.

"If you put public policy issues to a religious test, you risk becoming a religious party," Fox News quoted Schmidt, as saying.

Schmidt, whose sister is a lesbian and who supports same-sex marriage, said he understands the Republican Party probably won''t reverse its resistance to same-sex marriage anytime soon.

But he suggested that the party would be increasingly marginalized if it sustains that opposition long-term.

Schmidt predicted gay marriage would create a bigger and bigger divide between the GOP and the electorate in the years ahead. (ANI)