public attitudes toward homosexuality

Public Attitudes toward Homosexuality Tom W. Smith NORC/University of Chicago September, 2011 Public opinion on homosexual behavior is sharply divided and rapidly changing. As Table 1A shows, in 2010, 44% believed that “sexual relations between two adults of the same sex” were “always wrong” and 41% held to the opposite judgment that homosexual behavior was “not wrong at all.” Just 11% were in the middle, saying it was either “almost always wrong” or “wrong only sometimes.” Public opinion is thus highly polarized on this issue with few people sharing the middle ground.

From 1973 through 1991 there was little change in public attitudes towards homosexual behavior. From two-­‐thirds to three-­‐quarters consistently said it was “always wrong” while 10-­‐15% considered it “not wrong at all.” After 1991 attitudes began to shift toward greater acceptance of homosexual behavior. In 1991, 72% considered it “always wrong” and this declined to 44% in 2010, a drop of 28.6 percentage points. Likewise, from 1991 to 2010, the percent saying homosexual behavior was “not wrong at all” rose from 14% to 41%, a gain of 26.8 percentage points. Much of the societal division over this issue