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Poll: Support for gay marriage could be leveling off

A significant number of Republicans said their party is too liberal on abortion, government spending and other hot-button issues, the Pew Research Center said.

By Frances Burns
Stained glass inside the National Cathedral in Washington. UPI/Molly Riley
Stained glass inside the National Cathedral in Washington. UPI/Molly Riley | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Support for same-sex marriage dropped about 5 percentage points between February and September, the Pew Research Center said Monday.

Pew reported on the results of new polling on the role of religion in U.S. life and politics. The survey found that 49 percent of respondents say gay and lesbian people should be allowed to marry and 41 percent disagree.

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Analysts warned against giving the recent poll too much weight.

"It is too early to know if this modest decline is an anomaly or the beginning of a reversal or leveling off in attitudes toward gay marriage after years of steadily increasing public acceptance," the report said.

Pew found that 72 percent of respondents say religion is losing influence, and 49 percent say churches and other religious organizations should be more active in the political arena, up 6 points in four years. Almost one-third, 32 percent, said religious groups should endorse candidates, up from 24 percent in 2010.

Fewer than half of respondents, 47 percent, believe the Republican Party is friendly toward religion. Even fewer, 29 percent, say the Democrats are supportive of religion.

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The poll also found that 60 percent of Republicans say their party is not doing a good job of representing their views on government spending with smaller majorities saying the same thing about illegal immigration and same-sex marriage. On abortion, 45 percent say the party is not doing a good job and 44 percent disagree.

In most cases, those who are unhappy with the Republican Party say it is too liberal.

Pew surveyed 2,002 adults between Sept. 2 and Sept. 9. The margin of error is 2.5 percent for the entire sample.

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