As we reach the one-year anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which overturned the constitutional right to abortion, it is notable that support for abortion’s legality has increased over the past decade among Americans. In 2010, more than half of Americans supported abortion’s legality in all or most cases; by 2022, that number increased to 65%, according to findings from the PRRI American Values Atlas, and stayed at 64% percent in March 2023.
The partisan gap in attitudes about abortion’s legality has grown significantly larger since 2010, from 36% (with 71% of Democrats and 35% of Republicans saying that abortion should be legal in most or all cases) to nearly 50%by March 2023 (with 86 % of Democrats and 38% of Republicans supporting legality).
Legality of Abortion Among Partisans
While partisan views on abortion legality have diverged since 2010, can the same be said about religion? Have views on abortion legality shown any discernible shifts among Americans who identify with major religious traditions?
Legality of Abortion Among White Christians
White evangelical Protestants support the legality of abortion the least among all religious groups, fluctuating between 21% and 32% since 2010. Today, 27% of white evangelical Protestants say that abortion should be legal in most or all cases, compared with the vast majority who say abortion should be illegal in most or all cases (72%).
By contrast, the majority of white mainline/non-evangelical Protestants (68%) say that abortion should be legal in most or all cases as of March 2023. Although there is some slight fluctuation among these Americans, in most years since 2010, roughly 6 in 10 supported abortion’s legality in all or most cases, although there has been a uptick in support for abortion rights in the last three years.
Support for the legality of abortion among white Catholics has increased from 2010, when 53% said that abortion should be legal in most or all cases, to 64% as of March 2023. Similar to other white Christians, there has been some fluctuation in support among this group of religious Americans, yet white Catholics have consistently been more supportive of abortion rights than white evangelical Protestants.
Legality of Abortion Among Christians of Color
Majorities of Black Protestants have supported the legality of abortion since 2010, when 56% said abortion should be legal in most or all cases. It went slightly down to 50% in 2011, but this percentage has generally increased since that time, with roughly 7 in 10 Black Protestants saying that abortion should be legal in all or most cases in the past three years.
In the years in which PRRI data have enough cases to report, Hispanic Protestants tend to be less supportive of abortion’s legality, with 45 percent saying abortion should be legal in all or most cases as of March 2023. By contrast, Hispanic Catholics, are more likely to support the legality of abortion, although such support has fluctuated significantly since 2010, when about half of Hispanic Catholics (51%) supported abortion’s legality. Since 2019, solid majorities of Hispanic Catholics say that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
A large majority of non-Christian Americans say that abortion should be legal in most or all cases, wavering between 69% and 82% since 2010. Today, about 3 in 4 members of non-Christian religions (74%) say that abortion should be legal in most or all cases.
Unaffiliated Americans are the largest group to support the legality of abortion. Over 7 in 10 have supported the legality of abortion since 2010, and since 2015, support has increased even further, reaching 87% in March 2023.
