More than 75 per cent of Americans of every political belief back LGBT+ equality, poll finds

Support for nondiscrimination protections is weakest among evangelical Christians

More than 75 per cent of Americans support LGBT+ nondiscrimination protections, a poll by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) has found.

Laws that would protect LGBT+ Americans from discrimination in housing, the job market, and public accommodations are supported by 76 per cent of the public.

Almost one in five Americans, 19 per cent, are against such protections for members of the LGBT+ community.

Slightly more than one third, 34 per cent, feel strongly about their support for nondiscrimination protections, the same number for those who strongly oppose such regulations is six per cent.

Researchers found high levels of support for LGBT+ protections across groups divided by race, age, religion, and political preference. It’s the highest level of support ever recorded among Americans according to PRRI.

The level of support has increased four per cent since 2019, when 72 per cent of Americans were in favour of LGBT+ protections. In 2015, that number was 71 per cent. In 2018, support dipped to 69 per cent.

PRRI says the bump in support could be traced to increasing acceptance among people of colour and white Protestants. White mainline Protestants went from 73 to 82 per cent between 2015 and 2020, and black Americans moved from 65 to 75 per cent.

Other groups whose support has grown between 2015 and 2020 include multiracial Americans, who have moved from 72 to 81 per cent, Black Protestants, who have gone from 64 to 73 per cent, Americans between the ages of 30 and 49, moving from 73 to 81 per cent, independents, 73 to 78 per cent, and Democrats, who increased their support from 78 to 85 per cent.

The Catholic Church still rejects the idea of same-sex marriage, but Catholics as a group have still increased their support for LGBT+ rights.

The support among Hispanic Catholics increased from 75 per cent to 81 per cent since just 2019. Among white Catholics, support increased from 74 to 77 per cent.

Support within the Evangelical Christian community is significantly weaker, with only 62 per cent supporting nondiscrimination protections.

Many religious groups have publicly supported the Equality Act currently being considered by Congress. If signed into law, it would prohibit “discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity”. The legislation passed the House in late February. On a previous vote in 2019, eight Republicans voted for the bill’s passage. That figure had dropped to three when the bill passed the House again this year.

While the legislation is splitting the religious community, many faith leaders have expressed support.

“We should all be able to agree on this one thing — the law should treat all our children, God’s children, equally,” United Church of Christ minister Edith Guffey said as she testified before the Senate in March, ABC News reported. “I also know how religion and faith were used to justify slavery, but that was wrong … I think we can learn from that.”