Support for LGBTQ Civil Rights Highest Among Atheists, Agnostics, and Unitarians
By Hemant Mehta, March 27, 2019

According to data from the Public Religion Research Institute, just about every demographic — religious, political, age, etc. — has either maintained or increased its support for LGBTQ rights… with one key exception.

While 69% of Americans (overall) support anti-discrimination laws protecting LGBTQ people, support from Republicans has dropped from 61% in 2015 to 56% today. One theory here could be that the drop makes sense given how many “traditional” Republicans have abandoned the party after the election of Donald Trump, leaving behind a conservative core of white evangelicals. But that theory falls apart when you consider how the drop is even steeper among young Republicans, who are less driven by religious motivations than older conservatives.

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I always hate it when researchers lump atheists, agnostics, and religious people who just don’t belong to an organized group under the umbrella term of “Unaffiliated” because we’re not all of a like mind on these matters. So where would atheists rank on this list?

PRRI researcher Dr. Maxine Najle shared with me some specifics that don’t appeared in the full report, and at least there’s a little more relief that comes from looking at those numbers.