"Jesus would rather kill, not marry, gay people" - Franklin Graham

[Angrboda]

Arguments opposing same-sex marriage are often made on religious grounds. In five studies conducted in the United States and Canada (combined N = 1,673), we observed that religious opposition to same-sex marriage was explained, at least in part, by conservative ideology and linked to sexual prejudice. In Studies 1 and 2, we discovered that the relationship between religiosity and opposition to same-sex marriage was mediated by explicit sexual prejudice. In Study 3, we saw that the mediating effect of sexual prejudice was linked to political conservatism. Finally, in Studies 4a and 4b we examined the ideological underpinnings of religious opposition to same-sex marriage in more detail by taking into account two distinct aspects of conservative ideology. Results revealed that resistance to change was more important than opposition to equality in explaining religious opposition to same-sex marriage.

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Whereas religious opponents may see their objections to same-sex marriage as principled and legitimate, others see it as a human rights issue and may interpret opposition as a form of sexual prejudice and discrimination. Empirically speaking, religious opposition to same-sex marriage could stem from various sources. Given that religion offers believers a well-defined moral framework that entails specific attitudes toward social groups, beliefs, and behaviors, it is possible that attitudes toward same-sex marriage simply reflect religious proscriptions. On the other hand, opposition may also be driven by sexual prejudice, which is defined as antipathy toward individuals and groups based on their sexual orientation (Herek, 2000). An initial aim of this research program was to investigate whether a general aversion to gay men and lesbian women helps explain the relationship between religiosity and opposition to same-sex marriage. Previous research has demonstrated that religiosity is associated with sexual prejudice (Herek & McLemore, 2013) and opposition to same-sex marriage (Herek, 2011). To our knowledge, however, no studies have investigated the hypothesis that religious opposition to same-sex marriage is attributable, at least in part, to sexual prejudice (Hypothesis 1).

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Religiosity was positively correlated with explicit sexual prejudice ... as well as opposition to same-sex marriage ... Sexual prejudice was positively correlated with opposition to same-sex marriage...

In Defense of Tradition: Religiosity, Conservatism, and Opposition to Same-Sex Marriage in North America