The court ruling today that Prop. 8 is unconstitutional comes on the heels of a major PRRI survey showing that a similar ballot measure would not pass today. PRRI found that 51 percent of Californians would now vote to allow same-sex marriage. Additionally, only one-in-five Californians say that Proposition 8 is a “good thing” for the state.
The statewide public opinion survey, conducted in June and released last month by Public Religion Research Institute, also examined the role religion plays in structuring attitudes toward same-sex marriage and a range of other issues related to rights for gay and lesbian people.
Other Highlights from the findings include:
· Although the media often portrays the same-sex marriage debate as between the religious and the secular, a majority of those identifying as Catholics, both white and Latino, and mainline white Protestants support the allowing gay and lesbian people to marry. African American and Latino Protestants, and white evangelical Protestants oppose same-sex marriage. But even among the religious groups most opposed to same-sex marriage, less than half said that Prop. 8 was a “good thing” for California.
· One factor in the growing support for same-sex marriage is the entrance of younger Californians into the voting age population. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Californians under the age of 30 say they would vote to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry, compared to only 36% of Californians age 65 and older. These patterns persist across all major religious groups.
Click here to learn more about the findings, or read the entire survey and questionnaire.