American View on Homosexuality Changing Quickly

“Americans’ attitudes toward the lives and choices of gays and lesbians have changed radically since Massachusetts first legalized same–sex marriage a decade ago. A new survey finds a significant shift toward tolerance across every religious, political and age group and every region of the country, said Robert P. Jones, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute. PRRI’s survey, released Wednesday (Feb. 26), reveals the ramifications of these changes in family, church and community life. ‘Only the issue of marijuana looks anything like this in terms of rapid movement in favorability,’ Jones said. ‘But with that one exception, it’s unusual to see this much change in a relatively short amount of time.’ Overall support for same-sex marriage jumped 21 percentage points, from 32 percent in 2003 in a Pew Research survey to 53 percent in 2013 in PRRI’s survey. During this period, gay marriage became legal in 17 states and the District of Columbia and the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act that blocked federal recognition of legally wed gay couples. ... Within specific groups, the drop was less dramatic but still apparent: For white evangelical Protestants, the number fell from 84 percent to 78 percent; Black Protestants, down from 66 percent to 61 percent; Catholics, down from 65 percent to 53 percent; White mainline Protestants, down from 59 percent to 45 percent.”

(“Americans Turn Sharply Favorable on Gay Issues,” USA Today, Feb. 27, 2014)

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