5. Vast majority of Americans know someone who is gay, fewer know someone who is transgender

Nearly nine-in-ten U.S. adults (87%) say they know someone who is gay or lesbian. Far fewer (30%) say they know someone who is transgender. Across most religious and demographic groups, knowing someone who is gay is quite common, with vast majorities of all groups saying they know someone who is gay. There is somewhat more […]

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Methodology

The American Trends Panel (ATP), created by the Pew Research Center, is a nationally representative panel of randomly selected U.S. adults living in households. Respondents who self-identify as internet users and who provided an email address participate in the panel via monthly self-administered web surveys, and those who do not use the internet or decline […]

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4. Very few Americans see contraception as morally wrong

While a plurality of Americans say they think having an abortion is morally wrong and a substantial minority say the same about homosexual behavior, very few people – just 4% of all U.S. adults – think contraception is immoral. Even when it comes to Catholics who attend Mass weekly, just 13% say contraception is morally […]

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Where the Public Stands on Religious Liberty vs. Nondiscrimination

The U.S. public expresses a clear consensus on the contentious question of whether employers who have religious objections to contraception should be required to provide it in health insurance plans for their employees.

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3. Public split over bathroom use by transgender people

Americans overall are closely divided on the question of which public restrooms transgender individuals should be using. But similar to the other issues addressed in the survey, those who attend religious services on a regular basis lean somewhat more strongly toward the conservative position – in this case, that transgender people should be required to […]

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Acknowledgments

This report is a collaborative effort based on the input and analysis of the following individuals. Jessica Hamar Martínez, Senior Researcher Gregory A. Smith, Associate Director of Research Alan Cooperman, Director of Religion Research Besheer Mohamed, Senior Researcher Becka A. Alper, Research Associate Elizabeth Podrebarac Sciupac, Research Associate Claire Gecewicz, Research Assistant Nick Bertoni, Panel […]

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