This has been a big year for gay rights in America. In state after state, either judges or voters have affirmed the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, and public support for gay unions reached an all-time high.

But there's still a tension between the acknowledgement of gay rights and the acceptance of gayness itself. A new Pew poll on religion in public life found that exactly half of respondents said they consider "homosexual behavior" sinful, a five-percentage-point increase since May 2013. This view is most prominent among white evangelicals and black protestants; more than three-quarters of each group said they see gay sex as a sin.

This bump is accompanied by a slight dip in the portion of respondents who said they support same-sex marriage—49 percent said they were in favor, which is a five-point drop since February. This is roughly the same level of support seen among Americans in 2013.

Another gay-rights issue—whether businesses should be forced to provide services, like catering or cake-baking, at same-sex weddings—split Americans in roughly the same way. Forty-nine percent said vendors should be required to serve at gay ceremonies, while 47 percent said they should be allowed to refuse.