Screenshot of map from CNN, "Same-sex marriage in the United States."
Infographic created by Dawn Cherie Araujo using Canva.com and with data from Public Religion Research Institute. (Image of “The Wedding Couple” by Mike Licht, used under Creative Commons 2.0)
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in what’s being called an historic and high-stakes case regarding same-sex marriage. Being argued is the constitutionality of state-level gay marriage bans – basically, can a state impose a ban against same-sex marriages, and if a state does have a same-sex marriage ban, is it obligated to recognize a same-sex marriage performed in a different state where such a union is legal?
Currently, same-sex marriage is legal in 36 states, but if the court decides same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional, it will be legal in all 50 states. On the flip side, if the court decides bans are in fact constitutional, 22 states where bans have been struck down by federal judges could reinstate them. The court is expected to make a decision by the end of June.
In 2013, the Public Religion Research Institute began asking adults in the United State a variety of questions, such as their opinion on same-sex marriage. The data can be broken down several ways, including by religious affiliation.
According to the PRRI data, most people in the U.S.A. (54 percent) support or strongly support same-sex marriage, and Buddhists and Jews (84 percent and 77 percent, respectively) are the religious groups most likely to support same-sex marriage.
The graphic below highlights Catholic opinion, and this map from CNN shows the varying degrees of legality same-sex marriage has throughout the United States.
[Dawn Cherie Araujo is staff reporter for Global Sisters Report based in Kansas City, Missouri. Follow her on Twitter @Dawn_Cherie.]