Poll: Voters find gays more favorable than evangelical Christians

A new poll questioning likely 2016 voters commissioned by the Human Rights Campaign asked voters whether they view gay people more or less favorably than they do evangelicals Christians.


The results might surprised some folks.  From the Huffington Post:

On Thursday the Human Rights Campaign and Americans for Marriage Equality released the results of a study, entitled "Victory In Sight", conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and TargetPoint Consulting that investigated the nuances of voters' views on marriage equality. More than a simple matter of "Should gays and lesbians be allowed to marry?", the poll looked at shifts in opinions over time, reasons for such shifts, and differing opinions among ages, faiths, geographic areas and more.

The first question addressed acceptance, comparing voters' favorable or unfavorable feelings towards gays and lesbians and towards evangelical Christians. In a nearly 80% Christian-identified country, the results might surprise you.

Fifty-three percent of voters said they felt favorably toward gays and lesbians, compared to 42% who felt favorably toward evangelicals. Eighteen percent said they felt unfavorably toward gays and lesbians, while 28% reported unfavorable feelings toward evangelicals.

The same trend was present among respondents when asked whether they could separate the issue from their faith (ie. "While some people object to gay marriage, it is not for me to judge.") Sixty-eight percent of monthly worshipers and 72% of yearly worshipers responded in the affirmative, while only 42% of weekly worshipers agreed with that statement.