Reader Doug sent me two links: one to a Langer Research Poll conducted for ABC News and the Washington Post, and the other to a Politico story about the poll. But the poll pretty much tells it all, and the figure in the poll is striking:

The general question about equality trumping religion shows a stronger preference for equality than does the specific case of Kim Davis and gay marriage licenses in Rowan County, Kentucky. This is not surprising: people often become more sympathetic when real human beings are involved. But in both case over 60% of Americans prioritized legal requirements above religious convictions. That’s a ratio of about 2:1 at a minimum, and it’s heartening.

Politico notes, though, that these results differ a bit from a July poll:

The results contrast with the findings of an Associated Press/GfK survey conducted in July, weeks after the Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional. In that poll, 49 percent said that local officials should not be required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples if they have religious objections, while 47 percent said they should be. In the same poll, 56 percent to 39 percent said it is more important for the government to protect religious liberties than gay rights

That is a huge difference, especially for the general philosophical question. Now it’s possible that this reflects a sample size difference (I always wonder how pollsters derive their “sample error” estimates), or how the questions were asked. But it’s also possible that the truculence of Davis, the blatant cross-waving and God-osculating of her supporters, and the anger and sadness of gay couples in Kentucky, all combined to harden American hearts against privileging religion when it conflicts with principles of democracy. Let us hope so. It would be interesting to see the AP/GfK repeat their survey, using identical methods, four months after the first one.