I came across this research on Catholics and same-sex marriage in today's Washington Post (actually, my b.f. Carlos found it). That article led me to the Mark Silk's blog, Spiritual Politics:
A new study by Columbia political scientists Jeffrey Lax and Justin Phillips (h/t Robbie Jones), forthcoming in the American Political Science Review , ranks states according to public support for same-sex marriage and civil unions. Putting the rankings together with the 2008 Trinity ARIS survey reveals that six of the eight states where 50 percent or more of the public supports gay marriage are the states with the highest proportion of Catholics, ranging from Rhode Island at 46 percent to New York and California at 37 percent.Fascinating. And, Silk followed up with an additional post looking at the numbers here and here.
I grew up Catholic and have watched the change on gay issues in my family first hand. When Carlos and I were in Maine for the Fourth of July, my mother wasn't around for a couple days. She was at a same-sex wedding in Toronto. Yes, my 73-year old who goes to mass every week -- and would go to mass every day if she could fit it in -- supports marriage. And, her bishop, Richard Malone, is leading the charge to repeal Maine's new same-sex marriage law. That's not going over well with his flock.
Anyway, great findings by Mark Silk. And, I love his conclusion:
In other words, support for same-sex marriage is directly related to the proportion of Catholics in a given state. Way to go, bishops!
