The month of June was a depressing one for conservatives. The Supreme Court’s 50-state mandate for gay marriage and the upholding of Obamacare were a disaster for religious liberty, and social conservatism seemed to be in retreat.

But an encouraging new poll shows that by a margin of 4 to 1, Americans favor religious freedom and liberty over gay rights in the current culture war.

The poll, conducted by Caddell Associates, asked questions regarding legal cases where religious liberties have been under assault.

Via the Washington Examiner:

“Suppose a Christian wedding photographer has deeply held religious beliefs opposing same sex marriage. If a same sex couple wanted to hire the photographer for their wedding, should the photographer have the right to say no?” A huge 82 percent said yes.

Pat Caddell said 71 percent of Americans want the nation to produce “a commonsense solution that both protects religious freedom and gay and lesbian couples from discrimination.”

But when push comes to shove, they will pick religious freedom and liberty over gay rights by a huge margin.

“When asked which was more important, by a four to one ratio, voters said protecting religious liberty (31 percent) over protecting gay and lesbian rights (8 percent),” said Caddell, who added that most of the rest said both are important. The potential for a war is great, since a top Obama official suggested during the recent same sex marriage case that the administration could force groups opposed to gay weddings on religious ground to buckle under. There have been several standoffs and legal cases pitting businesses against gay rights groups. On that issue, Caddell found very little support for the Obama administration’s meddling in the affairs of religious-affiliated groups and businesses. He wrote: “More than two thirds (68 percent) disagreed that the federal and state government should be able to require by law a private citizen to provide a service or their property for an event that is contrary to their religious beliefs. Only 18 percent agreed. Indeed, 51 percent strongly disagreed with this. “When asked whether it should be up to the federal government to determine what constitutes legitimate religious beliefs only 11 percent agreed and a massive 79 percent disagreed. Indeed, even two thirds of those on the ‘left’ of the segmentation disagreed.”

Read more here.