The Last Bastion for Traditional Marriage

Dennis Bratland https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki

A Gallup poll released Thursday revealed that the last bastion for traditional marriage is among those who attend church regularly.

A poll, conducted May 2 – 22, 2022, asked Americans: “Do you think marriages between same-sex couples should or should not be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages?”

The poll showed that same-sex marriage acceptance hit a new record high of 71% in 2022, after hitting a previous record high of 70% in 2021.

Gallup’s data showed that Americans who do not attend or only rarely attend church were the most supportive of same-sex marriages since the organization began recording data. Those who attend church regularly are the “final holdouts of opposition,” with 58% opposing same-sex marriages. However, 40% of that group favor same-sex marriages having the benefits of traditional marriage. Although, the poll revealed that those favorable churchgoers have consistently remained between 39% and 44% since 2016.

The overall percentages had steadily increased since Gallup started polling the issue in 1996, when 27% of Americans supported the controversial topic while the majority did not. In 2011 the percentage climbed beyond 50% and rose to 60% in 2015.

Justin McCarthy, a writer for Gallup, noted, “While support has typically increased bt small percentages on an annual basis…. cumulatively, the increases have produced a transformation in U.S. attitudes on an issue Americans once vehemently opposed.”