More Evangelicals Supporting Gay Marriage, but Majority Still Oppose it
- Updated Jun 27, 2017
Support for same-sex marriage has been increasing among all religious denominations, although the majority of evangelicals still oppose it.
According to a recent Pew Research Center study, Americans in general support same-sex marriage nearly two-to-one.
All religious denominations have also seen increased support for same-sex marriage. Catholic support has risen to 67 percent and mainstream Protestant support has risen to 68 percent.
Evangelical support has also increased, but this group stands out because the majority still oppose gay marriage. Fifty-nine percent of white evangelicals oppose it. Black Protestants came in second to white evangelicals in opposing same-sex marriage (50 percent oppose it, while 44 percent are in favor).
Christian Today notes, however, that although the majority of white evangelicals still oppose gay marriage, their support for it has increased drastically in just the last 10 years. A decade ago, only 14 percent supported gay marriage, while now 35 percent support it.
Additionally, millennial white evangelicals’ support for gay marriage has increased to an even greater degree. Just a year ago, in 2016, only 29 percent of white evangelical millennials and Generation Xers supported same-sex marriage, while now, in 2017, that number has increased to 47 percent.
The views of white evangelicals from older generations regarding the issue of same-sex marriage have only risen one percentage point, however.
Photo courtesy: ©Thinkstock/nito100
Publication date: June 27, 2017
