U.S. Catholics Support for Same-Gender Couples Continues to Grow

Yet another new report has shown that the majority of U.S. Catholics support nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ Americans and support same-sex marriage.  Support for transgender equality, however, is not as strong.

The Public Religion Research Institute(PRRI) issued the report which involved interviewing over 22,000 adults as part of their “American Values Atlas” which examines people of faith and social issues.  The study comes on the heels of a newly- published book, Catholicism at the Crossroads, which showed similar positive evidence about U.S. Catholics and LGBTQ+ issues. 

The PRRI study sought to identify demographic, political, and religious characteristics of LGBTQ+ Americans, as well as to analyze trends in public attitudes towards LGBTQ+ rights across political and religious identity. Along with a variety of other religious groups, the study analyzed attitudes among Catholics towards LGBTQ+ rights and protections. 

The study also gathered demographic information about the religious affiliation of LGBTQ+ Americans, finding that over a third (36%)  of LGBTQ+ Americans identify with a Christian faith, while the majority (52%) are religious unaffiliated. 

A large majority of white and Hispanic Catholics (78% and 79%, respectively) support policies that protect LGBTQ+ Americans from discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations. These numbers reflect a larger trend among all religious groups in the U.S., the majority of which are remaining stable or increasing in their support for nondiscrimination protections. The study has also found the majority of all Americans (75%) likewise support these anti-discrimination policies. 

Along with supporting nondiscrimination protections, the majority of Catholics (74% of white Catholics and 70% of Hispanic Catholics) support legal marriage for same-gender couples. This reflects a major increase in support. In 2014, for instance, only 61% of white Catholics supported marriage equality. 

Most Catholics (67% Hispanic Catholics and 56% white Catholics) also oppose religious based service refusals to LGBTQ+ people, which the study defines as “allowing a small business owner in your state to refuse to provide products or services to gay or lesbian people if doing so would violate their religious beliefs.” Thus it seems the majority of U.S. Catholics do not view religion as justifiable grounds to discriminate. 

Americans–and Catholics–are more divided on the rights of transgender Americans, however. Around half of Catholics (54% of Hispanic Catholics and 47% of white Catholics) oppose laws that prevent parents from allowing their children to receive gender-affirming care. Around one third of Catholics (33% of white Catholics and 32% of Hispanic Catholics) oppose laws that require government IDs to display sex assigned at birth rather than gender identity. While these numbers may seem low, it is worthwhile to note that a significant portion of U.S.Catholic Americans do oppose these laws which limit the rights of transgender Americans. 

The Advocate reports that Melissa Deckman, CEO of PRRI observed, “Support for LGBTQ rights, including marriage equality and non-discrimination protections, have largely stabilized after some modest declines last year, with strong majorities — including majorities of most people of faith — supporting such policies.”

Many of these statistics provide signs of hope, suggesting that across Catholic American communities, support for LGBTQ+ individuals is being sustained and grown. Over the years, the People of God have listened to the nudging of the Spirit and are reaching towards greater acceptance and dignity for all. 

—Phoebe Carstens, New Ways Ministry, March 22, 2025