Church folk beseech God about same-sex marriage, but the message varies

See where various religions and denominations stand on same sex marriage. See where various religions and denominations stand on same sex marriage. Photo: Stats From Public Religion Research Institute Photo: Stats From Public Religion Research Institute Image 1 of / 23 Caption Close Church folk beseech God about same-sex marriage, but the message varies 1 / 23 Back to Gallery

Millions of Americans Tuesday beseeched God to influence the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, which Tuesday heard oral arguments on the legality of same-sex weddings. But, a survey by the Public Religion Research Institute indicates the content of those prayers likely differed dramatically depending on the religious affiliations of the supplicants.

Of all major religious groups, white evangelical Protestants showed the least support for same-sex marriages, with only 28 percent favoring or strongly favoring such unions. Within that group, evangelical Baptists led opposition, with 44 percent reporting they strongly disapproved.

By comparison, slightly more than half of white mainstream Protestants backed same-sex weddings. Thirty-eight percent of black Protestants favored gay or lesbian marriage.

Six out of 10 Catholics told researchers they favored same-sex marriage, as did 77 percent of Jews and 42 percent of Muslims.