Majority Of Americans Think Gay Sex Is Immoral

According to a new study from the Public Religion Research Institute, though the majority of Americans support gay marriage, most Americans think that gay sex is not "morally acceptable."

The study reports though that 53% of Americans are in favor of same-sex marriage--41% oppose--51% believe that sex with someone of the same gender is "morally wrong" while only 43% think it's fine. This is somewhat of a mixed bag in terms positive results--it's not quite full acceptance--but it is heartening to know that Americans seem to be shifting towards a live and let live attitude.

When the data is viewed upon lines of generation, the data is more encouraging. 69% of Millennials (people ages 18-33) are in favor of same-sex marriage--though only 56% believe that believe gay-sex is morally acceptable--while only 37% of the Silent Generation (ages 68 and older) support same-sex marriage--and 29% believe sex between partners of the same gender is morally acceptable. This is what progress looks like in numbers.

Even when the data is viewed in terms of religious affiliation, the data is somewhat encouraging. Though 51% of Americans believe that same-sex marriage goes against their religious beliefs, this is down from 62% in 2003. In fact the majority of white mainline Protestants (62%), white Catholics (58%), Hispanic Catholics (56%), Jewish Americans (83%), and religiously unaffiliated Americans (73%) favor same-sex marriage. Hispanic Protestants are divided--46% in favor of same-sex marriage; 49% in opposition--and the majority white evangelical Protestants (69%) and black Protestants (59%) oppose same-sex marriage.

Thus, though it appears that though Americans are a bit squeamish when it comes to guy-on-guy and girl-on-girl sex, they are willing to put their personal feelings--and religious doctrines--aside when it comes to the law.