A new study by PRRI says that most Americans, including most religious groups, oppose denial of services to gay and lesbian people.
According to a new survey by PRRI, more Americans are opposed to allowing small businesses to turn away services to gay or lesbian people because of their religious beliefs.
As many as 63 percent were against refusing product or services because of religious convictions, and only 30 percent supported such actions.
About 80 percent Democrats are against refusal of services to gay and lesbian couples because of their religious or conscientious convictions. Only 42 percent Republicans had this view, while a majority of 52 percent Republicans supported service denials based on religious beliefs.
White evangelical Protestants (49 percent) were most likely to favor refusal of services based on religious or moral beliefs. Only 27 percent of the white mainline Protestants, 22 percent of black Protestants, 19 percent of the unaffiliated, and 30 percent Catholics sided with this view.
The support for gay and lesbian couples to legally marry has also increased over the past decade, the study said.
About 62 percent of the Americans now support same-sex marriage, and only 30 percent are opposed to it.
In 2011, only 47 percent of the Americans favored gay weddings, while an equal proportion of people (47 percent) opposed it. In 2003, a little over 30 percent of the Americans supported gay and lesbian marriages, and about 59 percent was against the idea.
Again, Democrats were more likely to support same-sex marriages than Republicans.
About 73 percent Democrats favored gay and lesbian marriages, and only 43 percent of the Republicans were on same side of the camp. Around 49 percent of the Republicans were against gay weddings. The views of Independents were similar to those of general American public.
White evangelical Protestants (34 percent) were less likely to support same-sex marriages, as compared to other groups including white mainline protestants (66 percent), black Protestants (44 percent), and Catholics (68 percent).
