A strong majority (71%) of U.S. adults “think marriages between same-sex couples should … be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages,” according to a Gallup report published June 1.
This is the third year in a row that the percentage has increased and is the highest percentage in polling history. Since 2019, support has increased eight percentage points, and support has risen 44 points since 1996.
In 2011, a majority of all U.S. adults supported legal recognition for the first time, with a majority of support among adults 65 and older happening in 2016. A majority of adults aged 18-29 first occurred in 1999, in 2010 among 30-49-year-olds and in 2014 among those aged 50-64.
A majority of Catholics first supported the legal recognition of same-sex marriages in 2006, while U.S. Protestant support didn’t reach a majority until 2017.
Democrats first reached majority support in 2004 and Independents in 2007, but it wasn’t until 2021 that there was majority support among Republicans.
A majority of almost every demographic group now support same-sex marriage being recognized as legally valid, with weekly churchgoers being one exception. A majority (58%) of this group still oppose such legal recognition.
“The current 40% among this group [of weekly churchgoers] who support same-sex marriage is within the 39% to 44% range Gallup has recorded since 2016,” the report said.
By contrast, 82% of respondents who seldom / never attend church, and 70% who attend church nearly weekly / monthly, support legal recognition of same-sex marriage
The full report is available here. The margin of error is plus or minus four percentage points.
Managing editor for news and opinion at Good Faith Media.
