A survey of over a dozen countries by the Pew Research Center as part of the Global Attitudes Survey showed that in most of the countries, religiously unaffiliated people are more likely to accept homosexuality.
The overall number of people that accept homosexuality has continued to rise globally. The survey analysis additionally indicated, however, that the gap in acceptance of homosexuality between religiously affiliated and unaffiliated people is not that large. In two-thirds of the countries analyzed, the difference in acceptance was less than 15 percent. Since the Pew Research Center first began asking respondents whether homosexuality should be accepted in their countries in 2002, most countries have seen a double-digit increase in acceptance of homosexuality by 2019.
Pew also reported that in many of the countries surveyed, there are substantial differences in acceptance of homosexuality by age, education, income, and, sometimes gender. Further analysis from the center shows that wealthier countries, according to GDP per capita, tend to be more accepting of homosexuality. Dana Ruduša, the senior communications manager for the LGBT advocacy group OutRight Action International, told the Christian Post that attitudes on homosexuality are "changing because people who practice it are now more visible."
"It is easy to hate and fear something we don't know," she said. "Once we get to know LGBTIQ people, once we learn that our friends, family members, neighbors, leaders, idols and so on are also LGBTIQ people, the myths naturally start to fall away, leading to more awareness and acceptance."
The survey analysis found that the U.S. has the third-largest divide between religiously affiliated and unaffiliated opinions on homosexuality. 66 percent of religious Americans say homosexuality is acceptable, while 88 percent of nonbelievers say the same. The survey additionally found that those that are religiously unaffiliated view gender roles in the family differently, finding a relationship where both partners work and take care of the household more satisfying on average than religious people did.
Furthermore, the results showed that religiously unaffiliated people in most countries are more likely to align with the political left. This difference is especially pronounced in Spain, the U.S., and Canada. At the same time, the U.S. has the largest proportion among all countries of religious respondents who identify as liberal (left).
However, these trends are not universal. In some countries, such as Mexico, religiously unaffiliated people were less likely to be accepting of homosexuality. In Sweden as well, both groups were about as likely to be accepting of homosexuality. In Argentina and Mexico, unaffiliated adults and affiliated adults are equally likely of being part of the political left.
