{"id":73436,"date":"2012-02-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-02-07T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2012\/02\/07\/religion-and-attitudes-toward-same-sex-marriage\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:13:35","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:13:35","slug":"religion-and-attitudes-toward-same-sex-marriage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2012\/02\/07\/religion-and-attitudes-toward-same-sex-marriage\/","title":{"rendered":"Religion and Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Marriage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a victory for supporters of gay marriage, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Feb. 7 that a 2008 California referendum banning same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. The appeals court, upholding an earlier district court decision, ruled that the voter-approved ban, known as Proposition 8, violates the U.S. Constitution\u2019s guarantee of equal protection under the law. For now, same-sex couples who desire to marry in California may still not be able to do so, since the decision is likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The latest polling on the issue of same-sex marriage by the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.peoplepress.org\/\">Pew Research Center for the People &amp; the Press<\/a> (conducted in October 2011) finds that the public divides almost evenly: 46% favor allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally, while 44% are opposed. The public has gradually become more supportive of granting legal recognition to same-sex marriages over the past 15 years, with support increasing more steeply in recent years. (For a more detailed analysis of trends in attitudes about same-sex marriage, see \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2011\/11\/03\/section-8-domestic-and-foreign-policy-views\/\">The Generation Gap and the 2012 Election.<\/a>\u201d)<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: left\">Among religious groups, white evangelical Protestants express the greatest opposition to same-sex marriage, with 74% saying they oppose allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally. A large majority of black Protestants also oppose same-sex marriage (62%). The views of these groups have not changed since 2010. Compared with evangelicals and black Protestants, white mainline Protestants are more supportive of same-sex marriage, with 54% saying they favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to get married.<\/p>\n\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"ssmarriage-1\" alt=\"ssmarriage-1\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2012\/07\/ssmarriage-1.jpg\" width=\"415\" height=\"353\"><\/figure>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-callout has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><h3 id=\"in-this-research-package\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">In this research package<\/h3><div class=\"pressroom-content-block-body managed-content\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Public Opinion on Same-Sex Marriage<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Slideshow: Ten Years of Changing Attitudes on Gay Marriage\" href=\"http:\/\/features.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/same-sex-marriage-attitudes\/\">Slideshow: Changing Attitudes on Gay Marriage<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Same-Sex Marriage in the U.S.\" href=\"\/WorkArea\/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&amp;ItemID=6142\">Overview of Same-Sex Marriage in the U.S. <\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"\/Gay-Marriage-and-Homosexuality\/The-Constitutional-Dimensions-of-the-Same-Sex-Marriage-Debate.aspx\">Gay Marriage and the Law<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"\/Gay-Marriage-and-Homosexuality\/Religious-Groups-Official-Positions-on-Same-Sex-Marriage.aspx\">Religious Groups&#8217; Official Positions on Gay Marriage<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"\/Gay-Marriage-and-Homosexuality\/Gay-Marriage-Around-the-World.aspx\">Gay Marriage Around the World<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"\/Gay-Marriage-and-Homosexuality\/State-Policies-on-Same-Sex-Marriage.aspx\">Graphic: State Policies on Same-Sex Marriage<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"\/Gay-Marriage-and-Homosexuality\/A-Clash-of-Rights-Gay-Marriage-and-the-Free-Exercise-of-Religion.aspx\">Q&amp;A: Gay Marriage and the Free Exercise of Religion<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among Catholics as a whole, supporters of same-sex marriage now outnumber opponents (52% vs. 37%). In 2010, Catholics were more evenly divided on the issue, with 46% favoring same-sex marriage and 42% expressing opposition. A<a name=\"_GoBack\"><\/a> majority of white Catholics (57%) now express support for same-sex marriage, while Hispanic Catholics continue to be closely divided (42% favor same-sex marriage, 42% are opposed).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Compared with other groups, the religiously unaffiliated express the highest levels of support for same sex-marriage. More than seven-in-ten of the religiously unaffiliated say they favor making same-sex marriage legal (72%), compared with 20% who oppose same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This analysis is based on polling conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People &amp; the Press. More information on the latest data, including question wording and additional survey details, can be found at <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2011\/11\/03\/the-generation-gap-and-the-2012-election-3\/\"><em>https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2011\/11\/03\/the-generation-gap-and-the-2012-election-3\/<\/em><\/a><em>. Additional analysis of public opinion on same-sex marriage and homosexuality can be found at <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2012\/02\/07\/growing-public-support-for-same-sex-marriage\/\"><em>https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2012\/02\/07\/growing-public-support-for-same-sex-marriage\/<\/em><\/a><em>. A comprehensive analysis of attitudes toward same-sex marriage, including an analysis of long-term trends and detailed comparisons of religious groups, can be found at <\/em><a href=\"\/Gay-Marriage-and-Homosexuality\/Support-For-Same-Sex-Marriage-Edges-Upward.aspx\"><em>https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/Gay-Marriage-and-Homosexuality\/Support-For-Same-Sex-Marriage-Edges-Upward.aspx<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"small wp-block-paragraph\">Photo Credits: David Paul Morris\/Getty Images<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Feb. 7 that a 2008 California referendum banning same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. According to the Pew Research Center\u2019s latest polling on the issue, support for same-sex marriage varies by religious group.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[],"multiSectionReport":[],"package_parts__enabled":false,"package_parts":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":false,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[],"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[25,172,163,220,226],"tags":[],"bylines":[],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"level_of_effort":[],"primary_audience":[],"information_type":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[458],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[],"research-teams":[517],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-73436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics-policy","category-religion-politics-1","category-religion-social-values","category-same-sex-marriage-1","category-same-sex-marriage-2","formats-report","research-teams-religion"],"label":false,"post_parent":0,"word_count":497,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2012\/02\/07\/religion-and-attitudes-toward-same-sex-marriage\/","art_direction":{"A1":{"id":87472,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/07\/Prop8_300x200-jpg.webp","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/07\/Prop8_300x200-jpg.webp?w=300&h=200&crop=1","width":300,"height":200,"chartArt":false},"A2":{"id":87472,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/07\/Prop8_300x200-jpg.webp","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/07\/Prop8_300x200-jpg.webp?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"chartArt":false},"A3":{"id":87472,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/07\/Prop8_300x200-jpg.webp","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/07\/Prop8_300x200-jpg.webp?w=194&h=110&crop=1","width":194,"height":110,"chartArt":false},"A4":{"id":87472,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/07\/Prop8_300x200-jpg.webp","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/07\/Prop8_300x200-jpg.webp?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"chartArt":false},"XL":{"id":87472,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/07\/Prop8_300x200-jpg.webp","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/07\/Prop8_300x200-jpg.webp?w=300&h=200&crop=1","width":300,"height":200,"chartArt":false},"social":{"id":87472,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/07\/Prop8_300x200-jpg.webp","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/07\/Prop8_300x200-jpg.webp?w=300&h=200&crop=1","width":300,"height":200,"chartArt":false}},"_embeds":[],"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[],"report_materials":"","report_pagination":{"current_post":null,"next_post":null,"previous_post":null,"pagination_items":[]},"parent_info":{"parent_title":"Religion and Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Marriage","parent_id":73436},"materialsOrdered":[],"chaptersOrdered":[],"partsOrdered":[],"partsEnabled":false,"datacite_doi":"","prc_seo_data":{"title":"Religion and Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Marriage","description":"The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Feb. 7 that a 2008 California referendum banning same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. 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