New poll finds growing support for same-gender marriage in California – including among Christians

As Federal Judge Vaughn Walker ruled last week that California’s Proposition 8 is unconstitutional, a new poll finds that a similar measure would not pass now.  The controversial ballot measure, passed with 52% of the vote in 2008, outlawed same-gender marriage.In a statewide public opinion survey conducted in June and released last month, Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) found that 51 percent of Californians would now vote to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry. Additionally, only one in five Californians say that Proposition 8 is a "good thing" for the state.The survey also examined the role religion plays in structuring attitudes toward same-sex marriage and a range of other issues related to rights for gay and lesbian people.  Highlights from the findings include:Although the media often portrays the same-sex marriage debate as between the religious and the secular, a majority of those identifying as Catholics, both white and Latino, and mainline white Protestants support the allowing gay and lesbian people to marry. African American and Latino Protestants, and white evangelical Protestants say they would vote to keep same-sex marriage illegal.One factor in the growing support for same-sex marriage is the entrance of younger Californians into the voting age population.  Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Californians under the age of 30 say they would vote to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry, compared to only 36% of Californians age 65 and older. These patterns persist across all major religious groups. Find more survey findings on the PRRI website.https://www.publicreligion.org/research/?id=318