The California Supreme Court today upheld Proposition 8, which repealed an existing California law allowing marriage between same-sex couples by amending the state constitution to restrict marriage to heterosexual couples. The role of religion in that vote has been the subject of much interest and debate, but solid data on religion has been scattered.

Last December, the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) conducted a state-wide poll to provide a more nuanced picture of the general election and Proposition 8 vote in the state. Public Religion Research worked with PPIC analysts to produce findings for major religious groups that were not made available in their initial data release.  We have released a new memo summarizing these findings, along with summaries of the NEP Exit Poll findings on religion and the Prop 8 vote.

The full memo can be found here:
http://www.publicreligion.org/research/published/?id=131

The following are the key findings regarding major religious groups and the Proposition 8 vote:

• The data show a more complex picture among religious groups than stereotypes often portray. For example, while white evangelicals were strongly supportive of Prop 8 (88%-12%), white mainline Protestants evenly split their vote (50%-50%). This finding resonates with the Clergy Voices Survey PRR released just last week of white Mainline Protestant clergy, which showed Mainline clergy more supportive of gay rights than the general population and largely in line with Mainline Protestant people in the pews. That study can be referenced here.
• The largest group of religious voters, those who occasionally attend religious services (46% of CA voters), opposed Prop 8 (54%-46%). Only those voters who attend religious services weekly or more (32% of CA voters) supported Prop 8 (84% - 16%).
• Supporters and Opponents of Prop 8 brought different motivations and value frames to the ballot box.  Supporters felt more strongly that the vote was important and were driven primarily by the desire to “preserve marriage” and by religious objections to same-sex marriage. Opponents felt less strongly that the vote was important and were motivated primarily by a desire to extend equal rights and freedoms to gay and lesbian people.

Overall, this analysis cautions against an overly simplistic view of the role of religion in the Proposition 8 vote.

A report released today by Public Religion Research finds that mainline Protestant clergy are broadly supportive of equality for gay and lesbian Americans.  The report is based on the most in-depth study ever conducted of theological and political attitudes among Mainline clergy toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues in the church and society.

“Mainline clergy are generally more supportive of equal rights for gay and lesbian Americans than the general public,” said Dr. Robert P. Jones, President of Public Religion Research, which conducted the study.   “Clergy in these denominations have wrestled with theological questions around sexuality and report that they’ve been moving toward more supportive positions on equal rights in society and full inclusion in the church.”

The Clergy Voices Survey (CVS) is the only survey of Mainline clergy in seven years, and the most comprehensive ever in scope. Findings on broad social and political attitudes and behavior during the 2008 election cycle were released earlier this spring; the report released today analyzes the answers to more than 60 in-depth questions about attitudes toward sexuality and the role of LGBT people in the church and broader society.

Martin Marty, a leading scholar on Mainline Protestantism, said the “Uncertain Middle” identified in the survey illustrates a paradox of what he calls Ecumenical Protestantism. “Because it seeks to minister to an ever more pluralist America and internally diverse church, it concentrates on conversation more than confrontation, dialogue more than diatribe.”  Marty says this characteristic “represents one strength of this group of clergy who are well-suited to our current task of living justly together amidst our differences.”

A new survey conducted by Public Religion Research finds that a majority of Americans believe that the earth is getting warmer and that the U.S. has a responsibility to address climate change. Nearly 7-in-10 Americans and solid majorities of every religious group, including 71% of Catholics and nearly two-thirds (64%) of white evangelicals, believe there is solid evidence that the average temperature on earth has been increasing over the last few decades. More than 6-in-10 Americans say the federal government should be doing more to address the issue. The poll also reveals that most Americans see a link between global poverty and rising global temperatures. 

Dr. Robert P. Jones, president of Public Religion Research, says “this new poll shows that a majority of Americans, including people of faith such as Catholics and evangelicals, support addressing climate change even in our challenging current economic conditions. For most Americans, support for addressing climate change is not only about caring for the environment but about assisting the poor who are adversely affected by these changes.”