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xchrom

(108,903 posts) Sun Mar 2, 2014, 08:37 AM Mar 2014

More Americans Than Ever Support Gay Marriage, Leaving Christian Right Behind

http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/over-half-americans-support-gay-marriage

In America today, it's more normal to support gay marriage than not to.

That's according to findings from the Public Religion Research Institute, a non-profit, nonpartisan research organization. By comparing results of a survey it conducted in 2013 with one it did a decade ago, PRRI found that today, over half of Americans support same-sex marriage, up from just 32% in 2003. Its findings are similar to those of the Pew Research Center, Gallup, and other poling organizations, which have all noted a significant increase in support for same-sex marriage in the past 10 years.

Certain groups stick out as being far less supportive than others. Only 39% of African Americans support same-sex marriage, compared with 53% of Hispanics and 53% of whites. There is a nine-point difference between men and women, with 57% of women in support, compared to 48% of men. Sixty-four percent of Democrats and 57% of independents support same-sex marriage, compared to only 34% of Republicans, a gap that has increased by 21 percent points in the last decade.

But regardless of differences between groups, within groups, it's becoming more popular to support same-sex matrimony, even among those who have been traditionally staunchly against it. Take white evangelical Protestants, who continue to be some of the least supportive: while only 27% support same-sex marriage today, that's a significant increase from the 12% who supported it in 2003. Support for same-sex marriage is strongest among Millennials (people aged 18-33), with 69% in support, compared with only 37% of the Silent Generation (those aged 68 and older). The "generational tidal wave," as PRRI CEO Robert Jones calls it, holds true across religious and political lines: for example, whereas only 34% of Republicans overall support same-sex marriage, half of Millennial Republicans support it.

Personal connection and perception matter: knowing someone who's gay, and thinking that sexuality is biologically determined, strongly influences whether an individual supports gay marriage. The difference is striking: while 63% of those who support same-sex marriage have a close friend or family member who identifies as gay or lesbian, only 36% of those who oppose do. More Americans have family and friends who are openly gay than ever before: 65% today, versus just 22% in 1993.