Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) Survey Indicates Catholics, Mormons, And Evangelicals Perceived As "Unfriendly" Towards LGBT People

Despite increased outreach by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints towards gays reassuring them that same-sex orientation alone is not a sin and that they are welcome to become members of the Church if they abstain from sex, Mormons are still perceived by a plurality of the general public as being "unfriendly" towards LGBT people. That's part of the findings reported by Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) on their report entitled "A Shifting Landscape: A Decade of Change in American Attitudes about Same-Sex Marriage and LGBT Issues", released on February 26th, 2014.

Screenshot from page 21 of the report

In fact, Mormons were perceived to be one of the three most unfriendly religious groups towards gays. Catholics lead the way with 58 percent perceived as unfriendly, while Mormons checked in at 53 percent and Evangelicals at 51 percent. Interestingly, on the flip side, while 27 percent characterized Catholics as gay-friendly and 24 percent thought Evangelicals as gay-friendly, only 13 percent of respondents characterized Mormons as gay-friendly. This was the only part of the survey in which Mormons were highlighted.

-- Read the full 60-page report HERE.

-- Read the 23-page description of the survey methodology and the questions HERE.

Other issues examined in the survey include gay marriage, parenting and adopting by gay and lesbian couples, employment nondiscrimination laws protecting LGBT people, and perceptions of discrimination and bullying in society. A few factoids of interest:

-- The survey estimates that only five percent of the U.S. population identify as LGBT. PRRI found that most respondents tended to significantly overestimate the percentage of LGBT people, with only 14 percent correctly estimating five percent. This can be attributable to media infatuation and oversaturation, a problem identified by Kathryn Skaggs in her post about Disney's Frozen movie.

-- Support for gay marriage has jumped from 21 percent in 2003 to 53 percent in 2013.

-- Support for gay adoptions has jumped from 38 percent in 1999 to 58 percent in 2013.

-- 72 percent of respondents support extending antidiscrimination protection to gays.

-- Democratic support for gay marriage increased from 39 percent in 2003 to 64 percent in 2013.

-- Independent support for gay marriage increased from 39 percent in 2003 to 57 percent in 2013.

-- Republican support for gay marriage increased from 18 percent in 2003 to 34 percent in 2013.

The remarkable success of the Gay Mafia's sustained propaganda campaign must be turning Joseph Goebbels green with envy. The Salt Lake Tribune noted that only the issue of marijuana legalization looks anything like this in terms of rapid reversal in favorability.

The survey was designed and conducted by PRRI; they sampled 4,509 adults 18 years of age or older in the U.S. from November 12th through December 18th, 2013. Margin of error estimated to be +/- 1.7 percent. Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research at the intersection of religion, values, and public life. Their mission is to help journalists, opinion leaders, scholars, clergy, and the general public better understand debates on public policy issues and the role of religion and values in American public life by conducting public opinion surveys and qualitative research. As members of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), the American Political Science Association (APSA), and the American Academy of Religion (AAR), their research team strives to follow the highest research standards of independence and academic excellence.