A majority of American Catholics support same-sex marriage, a new poll has found.
The Quinnipiac University survey found that 54 percent of Catholics break with church doctrine in supporting same-sex marriage, compared with 38 percent who oppose.
According to the New York Daily News, the results of the survey reflect a steady uptick in support for gay marriage over the years.
The poll found that overall, 47 percent of American voters support same- sex marriage, and 43 percent still oppose it.
That’s a big reversal from 2008, when Quinnipiac found a sizeable majority of Americans opposing gay marriage.
Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac’s polling institute, said that Catholic voters are leading American voters towards support for same-sex marriage
The issue is before the United States Supreme Court this year, with the justices considering whether California”s ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional.
The Obama administration has urged the court to strike down that ban, and also to rule that the 1990s Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. Former President Bill Clinton, who signed the Defense of Marriage Act into law, joined in urging the justices to strike it down in an op-ed published Friday, the report added. (ANI)